Three Generation read Philosopher's Stone
by HJPotter1980
Summary: Lily Luna Potter finds first book and show it to her father
1. Mysterious Book

**Chapter One: Mysterious Book**

Lily Luna Potter lies on her bed and thinks about her father. Everybody respects him as saviour of Wizardry World and Head of Auror Department, but she has very little knowledge about her father past life. He did not speak about his childhood and his school life. She wants more about her father and she decides speaks to him

Lily gets up her bed and exits from her room to find her father. She knows where she should go. Her father was always in library or his study. His study is in third floor and library is second floor in East wing of Potter Manor. She decides to check library first. She must shift from West wing where Family bedrooms settle East wing. When she reaches to library, opens the door and enters. As Potter family is one of oldest wizardry family, there are many books gather in library by many generations and library has many sections, she knows there is a Restricted Section in library that contains old and enormous books and all of them are about very advanced and dangerous all sots of magic. She remembers that her father forbids this section and says this section protected by age line. Library was empty and this means her father must be in his study. As she decides to exit, sees a book with interesting title. She picks it from shelf and looks at its cover. This book is about her father. An idea hits her, she exits library quickly and reaches to her father's study and knocks the door.

"Come in" Lily hears her father's voice

As she enters the room; her father, Harry Potter, looks up and smiles

"What's up, flower" Harry says

"I was in library and found a interesting book" Lily says, "It's about you, dad"

Harry raises an eyebrow and says "a book about me?"

"Yes dad" Lily says and shows it to her father

Harry takes it and stares at it; he looks at year of its publication. It published in 1999 a year after Battle of Hogwarts. When he opens it, it was blank and then an envelope falls on the desk. Harry picks it up and reads it:

_To Last Generation of Potter_

From years of experience he knows that this letter shows its secret to whom address and his children must read it and this book must be related to this letter

"Pinky" Harry says

A female house-elf with traditional Potter house-elf clothes appears then bows and says, "Master calls Pinky"

"Where are my wife and sons, Pinky?" Harry says

"Mistress Ginny is in her study, Master. Master James and Master Albus are in Quidditch Pitch." Pinky says

"Call my sons on Family room." Harry says

"Yes Master" Pinky says and disappears with a small pop

"Lily, you should go to Family room." Harry says

"Ok dad" Lily says and exits

"Dotty" Harry says

A house-elf with traditional Potter house-elf clothes appears then bows and says, "Master calls Dotty"

"Call my wife on Family room." Harry says

"Yes Master" Dotty says and disappears with a small pop

James and Albus Potter fly on their broomsticks in Quidditch Pitch.

"Dad promises me to teach some seeker techniques." Albus says

"Really? You want be a seeker" James says "I thought you want to be chaser like mum"

"I wanted, but dad said I'll be a good seeker." Albus says

"Master James, Master Albus " Pinky calls loud "Master Harry calls you to Family room"

"Thanks Pinky, we do it." James says "come on Al, dad calls us"

"Ok let's go" Albus says and both land on Pitch

Pinky disappears with small pop

James and Albus put their broom in broom shed and walk toward main building

Ginny Potter was busy with a report for Quidditch column of Daily Prophet, then hears a knock on the door of her study

"Enter" Ginny says

Dotty enters, then bows and says, "Master Harry calls you on Family room, Mistress Ginny"

"Ok, thanks" Ginny says "off you go"

Dotty bows and disappears with small pop

Ginny sorts her desk and stands up, then exits the study and walks toward Family room

Family room locates beside library, when Harry enters the room finds all family in there. He sits on top of table and his family sit down too.

"What's matter Harry, you know I work on an important report." Ginny says

"Lily found a book in library about my past." Harry says

Children gasp and Ginny looks confused

"but this book is blank" Harry says "there is an envelope in the book that address to you three" Harry points to his children "it means that unless letter not read, we can't read the book. You always asked about my past particularly before final battle and I refused to answer to them for personal reasons, but if you really eager to know about my past, open this envelope"

James stands and takes envelope from his father and opens it. There is a letter in it. James opens it and reads aloud

_To last Generation of Potter Family_

_This book is one of seven books that contain events in years from 1981 to 1998 in wizardry World. You can read one book in the time and next book does not appear until current book finishes. First book shows its secret to current eldest Potter, Lord of Potter Manor. Each book must open by a Potter. When first book opens some people from past appear. In the end of each book a letter appears and shows location of next book in Potter library. You can invite people that you really trust._

"Ok, I think we can start tomorrow and we can invite Weasleys, Teddy, Neville and Luna" Harry says

"That's good. Tomorrow is Christmas and everybody can stay in Manor," Ginny says "Ok, I must finish my report" exits the room

Three Potter children exit the room.

Harry goes to library and puts book in his special shelf, then exits room and walks toward his study

Harry works on a secret report and document until he hears a knock on the door

"Enter" Harry says

Pinky enters, then bows and says "Dinner is ready, Master"

"Thanks Pinky" Harry says, "Off you go"

Pinky bows and disappears with small pop

Harry puts report and document in its special drawer and locks it with special charm. Then exits the room and walks toward dinning room in North wing. As he enters dinning room, his family sit before table and wait for him. Harry sits on his usual chair on top of table and three house-elves serve food.

"Dotty, Daisy" Harry says "we have guest Christmas holidays, you should clean all guest bedrooms"

"Yes Master" two house-elves say in unison

"Pinky, I think you remember my parents and Sirius and Remus." Harry says

"Yes Master" Pinky says "Pinky remember Master James and Mistress Lily, before Master born, and remember Master Sirius and Master Remus."

"Ok, I ask you clean their room carefully" Harry says

"Yes Master" Pinky says

After food finishes, everybody leave the room to their bedroom. Harry and Ginny enter Master bedroom, then change to nightdress and lie down a King-size bed.

"I invite all of them, but Neville and Luna are abroad for Christmas holidays," Harry says

"Ok, that's good all of my family gather in Christmas in here" Ginny says

Harry pulls Ginny to him; Ginny wraps her arms around him and puts her head on his chest. Harry kisses her softly

"Night Honey" Ginny says

"Night Sweetie" Harry says

4


	2. The Boy Who Lived

Three Generation read Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone Chapter Two-The Boy Who Lived

**Chapter Two: The Boy Who Lived**

The Potter Manor is ready for arrival of guest. Harry told to every family to be in Manor in 9. Potter family is in living room and wait for guests.

In 9 O'clock fireplace in Potter Manor becomes emerald and two eldest Weasley, Arthur and Molly, exit from fireplace and walk toward living room. After a quarter all of Weasley family was in living room. A last person exit from fireplace is Teddy, Harry's Godson.

After greeting, Harry leaves room and goes to library, then picks the book from his special shelf and exits and walks toward living room in North wing. When he enters living room, Pinky appears.

"What's matter Pinky?" Harry asks

"Professor McGonagall is in fireplace, Master." Pinky says

"Ok. Off you go" Harry says and walks toward Reception room.

"Morning Minerva" Harry says

"Morning Harry" Minerva McGonagall says "I'll be there in a minute" then vanishes

After a minute fireplace becomes emerald and she enters Reception room

"we have duelling class in Hogwarts this term," Minerva says " my staff suggest you as teacher of this class, this class is every Friday."

Every body knows that Harry Potter, Head of Auror Department, is one of most powerful and greatest wizards and many compare him to Albus Dumbledore

"I'm glad to teach your students, Minerva" Harry says

"Thanks Harry, students will be glad" Minerva says

"We decide to read books about past, in fact, about my years in Hogwarts. We'll be glad if you join us, Minerva" Harry says

"Sure" Minerva says

When door of living room opens, every body see another person enters and all of them stand for respect to Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Professor McGonagall is our honorary guest" Harry says

"Thanks Harry" Minerva says

"We should start" Harry says "read the letter, James"

James reads the letter and every one become eager to read books and who comes from past

Harry open the book, after a minute a golden light appears when light vanished, four figure, three men and a woman about twenty, appear in middle of living room.

"Ouch, what's happened?" a man with messy black-hair says

"Where are we?" a man with Gray-eye says

"You are in living room of Potter Manor, Padfoot" Harry says and walks toward them

All four return to who, stands in front of them and smiles to them

"Welcome home Dad, Mum, Padfoot and Moony" Harry says

"Who are you?" James Potter Sr. says

"I'm Harry your son, dad" Harry says

"But it's impossible, we just married we have not child besides you are older than us" James Sr. says

"It's possible if you travel in time, dad" Harry says

"What do you mean 'travel in time'?" James Sr. says

"You are in 2015, dad" Harry says

"But…How?" James Sr. says

Harry hands the letter to his father; James Sr. reads it then hands it to Lily Potter Sr. and then hugs Harry. Lily Sr. reads it and drops it then hugs Harry tightly

When releases him, looks at him kindly and says "Oh Harry, I'm glad to see you"

Harry smiles and says "I'm glad too, mum"

Sirius and Remus read the letter and they hug Harry

"I miss you, Sirius" Harry says "you too, Remus"

"It's good I can see my Godson" Sirius says "is not it, Moony"

"Yes, it is, he is like James and have Lily's eyes" Remus says

Harry turns to his family and says "Ginny, James, Albus, Lily, Teddy come here"

When they stand around him , Harry turns to his parents and their friends

"These are my family. This beautiful woman is my wife Ginny. This is my Eldest James, This is my youngest son Albus, This is my youngest Lily and this is my Godson Teddy, Remus's son" Harry says

Four adult hug them.

"I like your taste son, a beautiful red-hair woman" James Sr. says and laughs

"Yes Prongs, Potters and Red-hair women" Sirius says and laughs too and receives a glare from two red-hair women

"Ok, I think we should start, before I ask you not judge any body until end of seven books" Harry says and picks the book up

"The book title is **Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone**" Harry says

"What is Philosopher's Stone?" Albus asked

"If we read the book you can find it" Harry says

"The first chapter is **The Boy Who Lived**" Harry read

"What does it mean?" Sirius says

"If we continue we can find it, Sirius" Lily Sr. says

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, **

"Dursley?!" Lily Sr. says "you do not mean Petunia?"

"Yep" Harry says

"You know them?" James Sr. says

"Unfortunately" Harry says

**of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense**.

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"What is drill?" Sirius asks

Hermione and Lily Sr. explain

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache.**

"Charming" Sirius says

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.**

"it likes Petunia" Lily Sr. says

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"As you wish" Harry huffs

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"There is no problem with Potters" James Sr. says

"I can count plenty" Sirius teases

"Hey" All Potters shout

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,**

"There is no problem with Lily you horse" James says angrily

**because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"I AM NOT GOOD-FOR-NOTHING" James Sr. yells

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Like what?" Ginny says

"Like I want to" Harry huffs

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"What a Lovely family" Sirius says

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"Owl?" Arthur says

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"Brat"

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**

Harry and his family laugh

"What's funny?" Sirius asked

"You can imagine every thing about Dudley but little is not one of them" Harry says

"Oh"

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar -- a cat reading a map.**

"An Animagus?" Sirius says

"Maybe" Harry says

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen -- then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive -- no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.**

"Definitely an Animagus" James Sr. says

"I bet it is Minnie" Sirius says

"Do not call me that, Mr. Black" Minerva McGonagall says

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. **

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"Cloaks are not unusual" Sirius says

"Not for Muggles" Arthur says

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes -- the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, **

**and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt -- these people were obviously collecting for something...yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swoop ing past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.**

"Defiantly something must be happened" Remus says

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"Lovely"

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes,**

"What about us?" James Sr. asks curiosity

**their son, Harry"**

"And what about you, son?" James Sr. asks curiosity

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"Dead?" Sirius says

"I wish" Harry says

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**

"Yes it is" James Jr. says

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry**

"Maybe" Harry says

**Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

"Merlin, he didn't even know his nephew's name" Sirius says

"Thanks god, I'm not Harvey" Harry says

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister.**

Lily sr. huffs

**He didn't blame her -- if he'd had a sister like that...**

"Like what?" James Sr. says

**but all the same, those people in cloaks...**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"Ouch"

**"Sorry," he grunted**

"He said Sorry?" Sirius says

**as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak**.

"He don't be sorry anymore" Sirius says

**He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!**

"WHAT?" people from past shout

**Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination**.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw --and it didn't improve his mood -- was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"it is definitely Minnie" Sirius says

"Do not call me that, Mr. Black" Minerva McGonagall says

**Was this normal cat behavior?**

"No"

**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**

"What a progress"

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" **

**"Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early -- it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...**

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er -- Petunia, dear -- you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Lily Sr. huffs and James Sr. squeezes her hand

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... shooting stars... and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."**

**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I just thought... maybe... it was something to do with... you know... her crowd."**

"And what does suppose it mean?" Lily Sr. says

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son -- he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"What? Harry is a very good name" Ginny says

"Thanks Gin" Harry says

**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things?**

"Nope"

**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related to a pair of -- well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind.... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on -- he yawned and turned over-- it couldn't affect them....**

**How very wrong he was.**

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, whichwere both long enough to tuck into his belt.**

"It looks like Professor Dumbledore" Remus says

"Yep"

**He was wearing long robes,a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"See"

Minerva McGonagall smiles sadly and remembers his old friend

"My namesake!" Albus says happily

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop**

"Cool" Marauders say and Ron laughs_ I have one_

**He clicked it again -- the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Ha, I knew it" Sirius says

Minerva smiles

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled**.

**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"My dear Professor, I 've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"All day! Why?" Remus asks

"I have my reasons " Minerva says

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no -- even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls... shooting stars.... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent -- I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Wow, eleven years" Fred says

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day YouKnow-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"A what?" Sirius says

"Some Muggle candy I like them" Albus says

**"A what?"**

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of"**

"Like my namesake" Albus says

**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You- Know-Who' nonsense -- for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort."**

"Those days was different, no one afraid to say it anymore these day" Harry says

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.**

**"I know you haven't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."**

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

**"Only because you're too -- well -- noble to use them."**

"That's true" Harry says "Professor Dumbledore is greatest wizard that everybody knows"

Minerva McGonagall smiles; she knows how Harry loves his dead friend

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Aww"

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow.**

Harry paused and looks to his parents, Ginny squeezes his hand

**He went to find the Potters.**

"What?" Sirius asks and look anxiously to his best friend

**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are -- are -- that they're -- dead. "**

Every body in room become pale, James Potter Sr. wraps his arms around his wife and hugs her tightly, Sirius glare at book with unbelievable looks, he don't believe his 'brother' was dead. Ginny hugs Harry tightly.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it...Oh, Albus..."**

Minerva McGonagall smiles sadly; she cares about her old students

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know... I know..." he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**

"WHAT?" Lily Sr. yells "THAT MONSTER WANTED TO KILL MY BABY BOY"

Ginny tights her grip around Harry. Potter children look at their father palely, their father nearly killed as a baby. James Jr. held his sister tightly

**But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke -- and that's why he's gone.**

"How?" James Sr. asks

"You will find later" Harry says

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"It's -- it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"You stopped Voldemort" James Sr. asks proudly "you survive from killing curse"

"Yep"

"How?"

"I said you will find later" Harry says

**"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"WHAT?" Lily Sr. Yells "I can believe you, PETUNIA TURTURE HIM"

"You must raise him, Padfoot" James Sr. says

"Of course, I'm his Godfather" Sirius says

**"You don't mean -- you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore -- you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son -- I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"Listen to her Professor" Remus says

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"You think they treat him normal because of a bloody letter" Lily Sr. says

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend -- I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future -- there will be books written about Harry -- every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"He has a point" Remus says

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes -- yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.

Every body laugh

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it -- wise -- to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to -- what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"cool"

"it's like mine" Sirius says

"You have flying motorcycle?" Lily Sr. asks

"Yep"

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.**

"Old Hagrid" Sirius says

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"It must be dad" Lily Jr. says

"Yes, flower" Harry says

"You called Lily, flower" James Sr. says

"Yep"

"My son think likes me; I call your mum flower too" James Sr. says

**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

"YES! It's mine" Sirius says

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir -- house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

"Awww" Lily Sr. and Ginny coos and Harry blushes

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

Four people from past look at Harry, and Harry shows his scar to them

**"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"Unfortunately" Harry says

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.**

"Cool"

**Well-- give him here, Hagrid -- we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

**"Could I -- could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"Hagrid loves you much" Ginny says

"I know" Harry says

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it -- Lily an' James dead-- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"**

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep,**

"WHAT" Lily Sr. Yells "HE PUT MY BABY ON DOORSTEP"

"Calm down, Lily" James Sr. says

Harry walks toward his mother and hugs her and says "it is ok mum, I'm alright" his mother relaxes a bit and let him continues reading

**took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. **

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall -- Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

"Thanks, that's all need to listen" Harry says

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in **

**secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter -- the boy who lived!"**

"That's they call you" James Sr. says

"Yep" Harry says "this is end of chapter, who want read next"

"Me" Remus says

Harry hands book to him

16


	3. The Vanishing Glass

Chapter Three: The Vanishing Glass

"**The Vanishing Glass" **Remus reads

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets -- but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

Lily Sr. huffs, she does not like his baby boy raise by his 'lovely' sister who pretend has not sister.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**

"what a lovely manner to wake some one"

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"Because it was real" Sirius says and thinks about his bike

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"Today is that brat's Birthday?" Sirius says

**Harry groaned.**

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"Nothing, only he groans" Sirius says

**"Nothing, nothing..."**

**Dudley's birthday -- how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them**

Ron and Rose shudder by mentioning spider

**put them on. Harry was used to spiders,**

"You used to spiders! Why?" Ron says

"You find it next sentence" Harry says and he is anxious about their reaction that slept in a cupboard for ten year, only one person know it, his wife, Ginny, who squeezes his hand and nodes in encouragement

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, andthat was where he slept**

There was a silence after reading this sentence

"WHAT" everyone in room shots except Ginny and all of them stare at Harry for conformation.

"Harry? Tell me this is not true" Lily Sr. says

Harry says nothing and looks at Ginny

"Unfortunately, it is" Ginny answers instead of him

"HOW DARE YOU PETUNIA! I KILL YOU FOR TORTURING MY SON!" Lily Sr. yells

"THEY PAY FOR THIS.I SWEER THEY PAY IT" James Sr. yells

"I HELL THEIR LIFE FOR TURTURING MY GODSON" Sirius yells

"Why did not you tell it to us, Harry?" Hermione says, she was shocked hearing this

"You should've told us mate, I mean mione and I was your best friends"

"It does not matter to me, Weasleys and Hermione was my true family. All of my loneliness was vanished when was among you. All of my suffers became less when I was in Burrow. When Molly motherly hugged me, I became relax. It didn't matter how I was treated by Dursleys, it was matter to me how much Weasleys and then Sirius cared me." Harry says and all Weasleys and Sirius beam at him

Minerva McGonagall become furious about this, she knew that his old student's childhood was bad but she didn't know how much he treated like this.

"You knew it, Ginny?" Molly asked

"Yes mum, Harry told me after we married. We promised not to hide anything for each other" Ginny says

"What was your reaction?" Arthur says

"I was shocked and I wanted to kill them but Harry comforted me like now" Ginny says

All Potter children stare at their father in shocked look; one of them didn't know how much their father childhood was bad.

"This was one of my worst secrets of my childhood that I did not want to speak about it to everyone but Ginny was exception. I do not think any witch or wizard fights with Dark World like me in their childhood. I worked hard to make a world that my children's life become peaceful. They can enjoy their life. Do not worry about dark wizards and dark Lords." Harry says

Teddy stares at his Godfather, also he didn't have parents but presence of Harry in his life causes a very peaceful and joyful life. He knows how much his Godfather loves him and cares about him. He told him if he has any problem, he should tell him and be open to him. Now he knows why, his Godfather wants to assure that his Godson's childhood becomes better than his.

"Continue reading Remus" Harry says

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents.**

Lily Sr. huffs, she is furious about his son childhood

**It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

"Even Regulus did not spoils like this" Sirius says

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise **

"Because his parents did not care about his body, they only care how much their wanted." Harry says

**-- unless of course it involved punching somebody**

"It is better to be not you" James Sr. says

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,**

"He becomes my punching bag after this" Sirius says

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"Good"

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard,**

Everyone becomes furious by mentioning cupboard

**but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age**

"It is Potter genes" Remus says

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's,**

"I'll kill you Petunia" Lily says furiously

**and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.**

"Defiantly Potter genes" Sirius and Remus says unison

"You inherited Lily's eyes" James Sr. says

"Yes and Albus to" Harry says and smiles to his son, among his children Albus was exactly likes him

"He is exactly likes you, Harry" Lily Sr. says and smiles to her son and her second grandson

"Not only by shape, also by character" Harry says

"That is why I am dad's favorite" Albus says

"You are not" James Jr. and Lily Jr. say unison

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"I thought you hate it, mate" Ron says

"Yes, it was before coming to Hogwarts. Before it was something that it was special to me" Harry says

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."**

"WHAT" everyone say

"HOW COULD YOU PETUNIA! HOW DARE YOU LIE TO HIM?" Lily Sr. yells

"WE DID NOT DIE IN CAR CRASH" James Sr. yells

**Don't ask questions -- that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys. **

"How do you suppose to learn if you can ask question?" Remus says

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting. **

"It did not work" James Sr. says

"I know" Harry says

"It is Potter's hair curse" Sirius says

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way -- all over the place. **

"Defiantly Potter's hair curse" Sirius says

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel -- Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Everyone in room burst to laughter

"Good one, pup" Sirius says between his laughs

"Pup?" Harry asks

"Yep, you are my Godson" Sirius says

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"The world is ending" everyone says

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.**

**Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"Good thinking, cub" Remus says

"Cub?" Harry asks

"if Sirius calls you pup, I call you cub" remus says

"Ok, that's right" Harry says, he really misses Sirius and Remus

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin?**

Everyone laugh at using that name

**Two more presents. Is that all right''**

"They defiantly spoils him" Arthur says

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty..."**

"Great, he even can not count" James Sr. says

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

"Arabella Figg? Member of Order?" James Sr. says

"Yes, dad" Harry says

"Is she alright?" Lily Sr. says

"Yes, mum" Harry says

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"That is horrible. Why did she do it?" Lily says

"She has reasons, mum" Harry says

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be**

**a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"I hates her too" harry says and the laughs

"What's funny?" Sirius says

"You'll see in future" and mouths to Ron and Hermione 'third year accident' and they laugh too, they knew about what happened in their third year

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there -- or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"That's horrible, how did you survive?" Bill asks

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend -- Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Fat chance, pup" Sirius says

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"She thinks you blow up their house" James Sr. says

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave him in the car...."**

"What is he? A dog" Lily says angrily

"There is no problem with dogs" Sirius says

"nothing with dogs,I do not want compare him with that" Lily Sr. says

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone...."**

"What about you, you'll die of heat exhaustion" Lily Sr. says

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying -- it had been years since he'd really cried -- but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. **

"Brat"

**"Dinky Duddydums,**

Everyone burst in laughter

"I can't believe she call him that" James Sr. says

"I'm sorry for him" Remus says

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**"I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp- spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"I am not sorry anymore" Remus says

**Just then, the doorbell rang -- "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically -- and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Brat"

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy -- any funny business, anything at all -- and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"They can't do that" Lily Sr. says

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly..**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

"it was not my fault" Harry says "no one can stop accidental magic"

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar."**

"I shave your hair, Petunia" Lily Sr. says

**Dudley had laughed himself sillyat Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before**

"Potter Hair curse" Sirius says

**Aunt Petunia had sheared it off He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"How dare she do that" Lily says angrily "it was not your fault"

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls)**

"Charming"

**-- The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"Good, no punishment" Lily says

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"You apparated!" Sirius says astonished

"I did not really knew, I think maybe I flew" Harry says

"No you can't by yourself, I tried many times" James says

"Actually you can, I saw Voldemort flew" Harry says

"You saw Voldemort flew!" James says

"Yep" Harry says

"You must be good at Quidditch" James says

"Maybe" Harry says and tries make his face straight

James Sr. looks Disappointed at his son answer

"Continue Remus" Harry says

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of **

**his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid- jump**.

Everyone laugh at this

"This is not a good excuse, Harry" Sirius says

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

"Argh! Cabbage"

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"it seems they like you" Charlie says

"well, I like them too"

**"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"That wasn't smart move, Harry" Hermione says

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon -- they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Idiot"

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"I like Lemon ice pop" Lily Sr. says

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

Everyone burst in laughter very hard at this

"Very good one, pup" Sirius says

"Thanks" Harry says

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbockers glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"I don't like this" Lily Sr. says worried

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can -- but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"You compare yourself with a snake" James Sr. says

"At least he thinks he is better" Sirius says

Harry didn't listen to them, he was anxious to see what their reaction about being a parselmouth is.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

"It's weird" James Sr. says "you are parselmouth"

"Yes" Harry says

"But it's impossible, it is a skill that pass down by blood and Potters are not parselmouth" James Sr. says

"I can't say now" Harry says

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time.**

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see -- so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"And you thought that it is normal that you can speak to a snake" James Sr. says

"I thought many people can" Harry says

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.**

**"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.**

"Hey! Leave him alone" all Potters and Sirius shout

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened -- one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"What did you do?" Ron says excitedly

"You'll see" Harry says

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. **

"Very impressive! That was powerful magic." Bill says

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come.... Thanksss, amigo."**

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"OH no, why did he said that, now dad get in trouble" Albus says

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go -- cupboard -- stay -- no meals," before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"They could not do that" Lily Sr. says "he maybe dies from starving"

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years,**

Ginny hugs Harry tightly

**As long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

Ginny tights her grip, everyone shudder at this

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from.**

"How could you survive from killing curse" Remus asks

"you'll find it in future" Harry says and looks at his parents who was pale

"Are you alright, mum" Harry says

"I can not believe you nearly died and you was only a baby" Lily Sr. says

**He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

"I am happy I can see you now both of you" Harry says "after this long years"

"Oh Harry" lily Sr. rush toward his son and hugs him tightly

James Sr. comes toward them and hugs his wife and son

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too.**

"Definitely wizards" Arthur says

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"that's bad" James says sadly

"I know" Harry says

"That is end of chapter" Remus says "Who wants to read"

"I will" Minerva McGonagall says

"Here you are, Professor" Remus says and hands book to her


	4. The Letters From No One

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

Chapter Four: The Letter From No One

"**The Letters From No One**" Minerva read

"What does it mean?" Fred says

"I think Harry delivers his Hogwarts letter" Minerva says

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"They punished you for that" Lily Sr. says "did they feed you enough?"

"Honestly No, I went school and I went directly in my cupboard and one meal per day" Harry says

"WHAT, they starved you. if I'll see Petunia, I'll kill her" Lily sr. says

"Hang on, where were you Sirius, Remus?" James Sr. says "you should raise him not that monsters"

"we do not know, James" remus says and Sirius nods

"You should promise me if any thing happens to me and Lily, both of you should raise him." James Sr. says

"We promise James" Sirius says

"Please continue, Minerva" Harry says

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Poor Mrs. Figg" Molly says

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"He should be leader in stupid group" Sirius says

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"We'll start Dudley Hunting" George says

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house,wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.**

"No pup, you'll go to Hogwarts" Sirius says

**Dudley thought this was very funny.**

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it -- it might be sick."**

Everyone burst in laughter

"Good one, dad" Albus says

"Thanks, Al" Harry says

**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"I don't think he'll be notice at all, mate" Ron says

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn 't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"That's bad" Remus says

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up.**

"You think so" Sirius says

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

"if he touch you, I'll kill him" Sirius says

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

**"Your new school uniform," she said. Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"You said it, Harry" James says and laughs

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

"Great, they buy everything for that stupid fat brat but even do not want to buy a new uniform for you" James says angrily

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High -- like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

Lily Sr. huffs

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"WOW, he orders his son to do something" Sirius says

**"Make Harry get it."**

**"Get the mail, Harry."**

**"Make Dudley get it."**

"You said it, pup" Sirius says

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"Git" Sirius says

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and -- a letter for Harry.**

"it should be Hogwarts letter" Remus says

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives -- he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H**

"Yes, your Hogwarts letter" James Sr. says

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter.**

"No, open it Hall" James Sr. says

"I didn't know what it was" Harry defenses himself

**He handedUncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk. --."**

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Git"

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"Hey leave him alone"

**"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon,**

"it is not your business" Sirius says

"Many people want" Ginny says

"In fact, Albus delivered many letters from your fans, Harry" Minerva says

"Really?" Harry says

"Yes, I kept them in my office. I can return to you, if you want" Minerva says

"Er…" Harry says

"Do it. Dad" Lily Jr. says "I want to read them"

"We want to" James Jr. and Albus say unison

"Ok, I do it" Harry says "Thanks, Minerva"

**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

"He feared from letter" Remus says

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness -- Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

"Idiot"

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"No, you don't have right" Hermione says

**want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**

"Tell him, Harry" George says

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"it seems Harry inherits your temper, Lily" Sirius says

**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**

"No way"

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"Not bad try, pup" Sirius says

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address -- how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"No, it is kind of magic," Minerva says

**"Watching -- spying -- might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want --"**

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

**"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer... Yes, that's best... we won't do anything....**

"As if we'd let Harry Potter slip through our fingers" Minerva rolled her eyes

**"But --"**

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"You can't stamp magic out from some one, it is very dangerous. It leads to many accidental magic if it was powerful like Harry have, it could kill some one." Remus says

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'dnever done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"WOW"

**"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

**"No one. it was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

**"Er -- yes, Harry** –

"WOW, he said your name" Sirius says

**about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking... you're really getting a bit big for it... we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

"WHAT, that FAT BRAT has TWO bedrooms and you had to sleep in BLOODY CUPBOARD" Lily Sr. says angrily

"I'll kill them" James Sr. says

**"Why?" said Harry.**

"He thinks that stop delivering letter" Minerva says

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms:**

Lily Sr. huffs

**one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large bird cage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, I don't want him in there... I need that room... make him get out...."**

"Shut up, you stupid fat git" Sirius says

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

"We'll get to you somehow" Minerva says

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive --'"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

**"Go to your cupboard -- I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley -- go -- just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

"Like a true Marauder" Sirius and James Sr. say unison

"Thanks" Harry says and grins at them after all he was son of a Marauder

James Jr. looks at his father he do not think his father has high sense of troublemaking

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.**

"Good plan, Pity it doesn't work" Sirius says

**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door --**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat -- something alive!**

"See. I was right" Sirius says

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap.**

"Damn"

**Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**I want --" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

"Git"

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."**

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"Because we are smarter" Bill says

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"Git"

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office**

"It does not work" Molly says

**and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Many"

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today --"**

"You wish"

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets.**

"See"

**The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one.**

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

"That's ridiculous"

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

"He is going to depressed" Sirius says

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake'em off... shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"He finally cracked" Arthur says

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"The world is ending" Charlie says

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and**

**wondering....**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

"He does not have right to do this" Lily Sr. says

**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"WOW, finally he notices it" Sirius says

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dud ley sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television. "**

"What a pity you can't" George says

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday -- and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television -- then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

"Oh, Happy Birthday Harry" Lily Sr. says and beams at his son

"I am 35 on past July, mum" Harry says

"When is your birthday, Honey?" lily Sr. says

"31st July 1980" Harry says

"A year after our marriage Lily" James Sr. says

"OH, James …" Lily Sr. gasp

"What's wrong, Flower" James Sr. says

"I must be pregnant" Lily Sr. says

"Really?" James Sr. asked

"When we got here, it our time was November 1979 and Harry said he born in July means that I am pregnant" Lily Sr. says excitedly

"I'll be a father?" James Sr. says

"Yes James" Lily says

"YES! I'LL BE A FATHER" James Sr. yells

Everyone one in room congratulates to them

Harry hugs her mother and father and says "that's weird I am here and I am a baby in mum's belly"

"Congratulation Prongs, Lils" Sirius says happily

"Congratulation James, Lily" Remus says

"You are his Godfather, Padfoot" James Sr. says "and you too, Moony"

"I think we should continue reading" Lily Sr. says

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun -- last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

"Dudley got about thirty present and you got that rubbish" Ginny hisses

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

"Of Course"

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**

"Oh no, I do not like this" Lily sr. says

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

"Don't worry, you'll get it somehow" Minerva says

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

Lily Sr. and Ginny huff

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

"On Hogwarts, of course"

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

"No,you'll be wet" Lily Sr. says motherly

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds... twenty ... ten... nine -- maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him -- three... two...one...**

**BOOM.**

"What's happens?" Sirius says

"You'll see" Harry says

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"Who is it?" James Sr. says

"if you wait, you'll find soon" Harry says

"This is end of chapter" Minerva McGonagall says "who wants read next"

"Me" Arthur says

Professor McGonagall hands book to him

"Wait it is lunch time" Ginny says "Pinky"

Pinky appears with a small pop, then bows and says "Mistress calls Pinky"

"is lunch ready?" Ginny says

"Yes Mistress" Pinky says "lunch table is settles"

"Ok, off you go" Ginny says

Pinky bows and disappears with a small pop

"I think we can continue after lunch" Ginny says

"That's good" Sirius and Ron say unison


	5. The Keeper of the Keys

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

Chapter Five: The Keeper of the Keys

Everyone present in dinning room of Potter Manor and sat on chair before a very beautiful table. Three house-elves serve the food and everyone enjoys for this delicious food.

After lunch finishes, all of them return to living room and sit on their spot.

"That was delicious" Sirius says and James Sr. and Ron nod in agreement.

"I think we should continue faster, we have seven books" Harry says

"**The Keeper of the Keys**" Arthur reads

"Who is he?" Percy says

"You'll find it in few minutes" Harry says

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"Because he is really stupid" Sirius says

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands –**

"He has gun!" Sirius says

**now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you -- I'm armed!"**

**There was a pause. Then --**

**SMASH!**

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway.**

"He must be Hagrid" James Sr. says

"But he is Half-Giant" Lily Sr. says "giants are about six or seven meters"

**His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"It is defiantly Hagrid" Sirius says

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."**

"YES! He is Hagrid" Sirius says

"Thanks god, you finally read your Hogwarts letter" Lily Sr. says

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yet dad, but yeh've got yet mom's eyes."**

Harry used to hear this sentence

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

**I demand that you leave at once, sit!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

"Yes, Go on Hagrid" Sirius says

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway -- Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here -- I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"Oh. That is nice you have something for your birthday" Lily Sr. says

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.**

"That was nice of him" Lily Sr. says "but I advice you not eat much"

"That wasn't that bad" Harry says

"maybe, he didn't make it" Sirius says

"Why green icing" Ron says

"Maybe matches with color of his eye" Hermione says

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Harry James Potter, where is your manner?" Lily Sr. says

"Sorry mum" Harry says and smiles

"James?" James Sr. says

"Yes, I select this name for our son, have you problem with it?" Lily Sr. says]

"No, Flower" James Sr. says

"Good, because it is my full name" Harry says

**The giant chuckled.**

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"Typical Hagrid"

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, andbegan taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"WOW, how much his pockets are?" James Jr. says

"Big enough for him" Harry says

**Soon the hut was full of the sound andsmell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"Like Hagrid give him anything" Sirius says

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yet great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"Good one Hagrid" Sirius says and laughs

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful,**

"Yet, Molly's and Ginny's cooking are best and Pinky makes delicious one" Harry says

Molly and Ginny beam at him

**but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"That's better" Lily Sr. says

Harry beams at his mother

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts -- yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

"NO"

**"Er -- no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly**

"Don't apologize dear, it their fault" Lily Sr. says

**"Sony?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank backinto the shadows. "It' s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all?"**

"No"

**"All what?" asked Harry**

"Hagrid never likes it" James Sr. says

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy -- this boy! -- knows nothin' abou' -- about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

**"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." ButHagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."**

**"What world?"**

"Hagrid will be angry" Sirius says

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

"YES! Go on Hagrid" Sirius says

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

**"But yeh must know about yet mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."**

"NO"

**"What? My -- my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

**"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally**

"No"

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sit! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

**"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

"Come on Hagrid, tell him" Remus says

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yet heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry -- yet a wizard."**

"YES"

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"-- a what?" gasped Harry.**

Everyone burst in laughter

"Good reaction, pup" Sirius says and laughs

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, whichgroaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Good, you get your Hogwarts letter" James sr. says

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**Deputy Headmistress**

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"Really it was your question?" Sirius says

"it was last thing that I read" harry sayd

"Ok"

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl -- a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl**

"Poor owl"

**-- a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**

**Given Harry his letter.**

**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**

**Weather's horrible. Hope you're Well.**

**Hagrid**

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone**.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going," he said.**

"You wish"

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call non-magic folk like thern. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

**"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a -- a wizard?"**

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister**

"LILY IS NOT DRATTED" James Sr. Yells

**being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was -- a freak!**

"Hey! Lily is not freak, you horse face" James Sr. says

"I hate that she calls me that" Lily Sr. says sadly and Jame s Sr. wraps arm around her

"Me too" Harry says

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as -- as -- abnormal -- and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"That's weird" Ron says "we grown up with your story, we compare to you"

"Really?" Harry says

"Yes, me and Ron have a Harry Potter play" Ginny says and blush

Harry raises an eyebrow and says "Really? What did you do?"

"I told you tonight" Ginny says

"Ok Gin, I can wait" Harry says

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh -- but someone 3 s gotta -- yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"You think what happens if I didn't know that" Harry says

"You seem like an idiot that didn't know about yourself" Ron says

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh -- mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it...."**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with -- with a person called -- but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows --"**

**"Who? "**

**"Well -- I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah -can't spell it. All right -- Voldemort. "**

"You made Hagrid said that name" Sirius says

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this -- this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too -- some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him -- an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...**

"There is no way that we join that monster" James Sr. and Lily Sr. say unison

**probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' -- an' --" **

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

Arthur stops and looks at them, James Sr. hugs his wife. Ginny hugs Harry tightly.

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad -- knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicerpeople yeh couldn't find -- anyway..."**

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em.**

James Sr. tights his grip on his wife

**An' then -- an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing -- he tried to kill you, too.**

Ginny tights her grip on Harry

**Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a Powerful, evil curse touches yeh -- took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even -- but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age -- the McKinnons,**

"Oh My God, Not Marlene" Lily says

"Sorry mum" Harry says

"No" Lily Sr. says

**the Bones,**

"All of them?" James Sr. says

"Edgar, Amelia's brother" Arthur says

"No" James Sr. says sadly

**The Prewetts –**

"Fabian or Gideon?" Sirius says

"Both" Arthur says and hugs Molly tightly

"No, they were good guy" Sirius says sadly

**an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before**

Ginny makes circles on Harry's back to comfort him

**-- and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel. **

Everyone shudder by mentioning this

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."**

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were**

**clenched.**

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured -- and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion -- asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types -- just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end --"**

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like asword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley -I'm warning you -- one moreword... "**

"Good one Hagrid" Sirius says

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

**"But what happened to Vol--, sorry -- I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"Say Voldemort Harry, fear a name only increases its fear" James Sr. says

"I do not have problem by saying that name, dad" Harry says

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more an' more powerful -- why'd he go?**

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don~ reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on -- I dunno what it was, no one does -- but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If**

**He'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry... chased by Dudley's**

**gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his**

**revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard -- you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

"Yes, I saw and I hated everyone stare at my scar and be famous for something that I didn't remember" Harry says

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish -- spell books and wands and --"**

"Fat Git" James Sr. says "you can not do it"

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest**

**school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had**

**Albus Dumbled--"**

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL To TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

Everyone in room gasp

"Hagrid not be liked it, he loves Albus" Minerva says

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDORE- IN- FRONT- OF- ME!"**

"See"

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley -- there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

"That was brilliant" James Sr. and Sirius say

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do.**"

"Good one Hagrid" Sirius says

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm -- er -- not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff -- one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job**

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

**"Oh, well -- I was at Hogwarts meself but I -- er -- got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." "Why were you expelled?"**

**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly.**

"Do you know reason of his explosion?" James Sr. says

"Yes but you'll find it in future" Harry says

**"Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Poor mice" Lily Sr. says

"This is end of chapter" Arthur says "who wants to read next "

"Me" Teddy says

Arthur hands book to him


	6. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

**Thanks to twilightgal101,JMR4 and Taeniaea for Reviews**

Chapter Six: Diagon Alley

"**Diagon Alley**" Teddy read

"Good, it means you are going buy your school stuff with Hagrid" Lily Sr. says

"Yep"

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.**

**"It was a dream, he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

"Nope, it was real, pup" Sirius says

"it was dream for me, I mean that after ten years some one said to me that I'm not freak and it seems someone from somewhere cared about me" Harry says

"Oh"

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

**"Don't do that."**

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him**

"It seems that the owl wanting you to pay for paper" Remus says

"I did not know" Harry says "I did not know anything about wizardry world"

"Oh"

**and carried on savaging the coat.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl**

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

**"What?"**

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets -- bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

"Why strange?" Ron says

"As I said I did not know anything about wizardry world and used to muggle money that they made by paper, they have coin but they use paper money"

"Oh"

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

**"Knuts?"**

**"The little bronze ones."**

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

**"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

**"Um -- Hagrid?"**

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money -- and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

"You thought we did not leave anything for you" James Sr. says

"I did not know anything about you that time" Harry says

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

**"But if their house was destroyed --"**

"Does muggles keep their money in their house?" Sirius says

"Of course not, they have banks" Lily Sr. says

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold -- an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

**"Wizards have banks?"**

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

**"Goblins?"**

**"Yeah -- so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it,**

Harry looks at Ron and Hermione and they look at him and then Trio laugh

"What's so funny?" Sirius says

"You'll find in future" Harry says and thinks about their break out in Gringotts before final battle

**I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe -- 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts -- knows he can trust me, see.**

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"I can not imagine that Hagrid can fly" James Sr. says

**"Flew?"**

**"Yeah -- but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying toimagine him flying.**

"You thinks like me" James Sr. says and beams at his son

"I hope not" Lily Sr. says

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter -- er -- speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

**"Spells -- enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults.**

Trio exchange looks to each other

**Andthen yeh gotta find yer way -- Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, 0 'course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

**But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

"It is more than Hagrid described" Sirius says

"We all know it Sirius, Thanks" Lily Sr. says

**"Why?"**

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles**

**dream up, eh?"**

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

Trio Exchange looks

**"You'd like one?"**

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid -- here we go."**

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM**

**First-year students will require:**

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

"Some books change" Sirius says

"Because they have different teachers" Lily Sr. says

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

**Wand**

**Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set**

**Glass or crystal phials**

**Telescope set**

**Brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"Nope"

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

"Why? Hagrid is a good guy" James Sr. says

"I did not used to be treat well by anyone" Harry says

"Oh"

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"You are right"

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this -- can this be --?"**

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out.**

**Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

Harry groans.

James Sr. notices that and says "I think you hates it and being in spotlight"

"Yes" Harry says

"Unlike someone" Lily Sr. says

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand -- I'm all of a flutter."**

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Didyou hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again -- Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."**

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

**"Must get on -- lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh -- mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

**"Is he always that nervous?"**

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience.... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag -- never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"**

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry." He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered -- it wriggled -- in the middle, asmall hole appeared -- it grew wider and wider -- a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons -- All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver -- Self-Stirring -- Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad...."**

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium -- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand -- fastest ever --"**

"Good, new Broomstick, I like that one" James Sr. and Sirius say unison

"it is bad it did not invent yet" Lily Sr. says

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon....**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -**

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

**Enter, stranger, but take heed**

**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**

**For those who take, but do not earn,**

**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**

**So if you seek beneath our floors**

**A treasure that was never yours,**

**Thief, you have been warned, beware**

**Of finding more than treasure there.**

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

**"You have his key, Sir?"**

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."**

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the YouKnow-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" **

Trio exchange looks to each other and do not know how they should feel about this goblin who helps them in break out and steels Gryffindor Sword from them

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in -- Hagrid with some difficulty -- and were off.**

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"What are they?" Sirius says

"They are in muggle lessons, we don't need knowing about them" Harry says

"Ok"

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

"poor Hagrid"

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

"It is your trust vault" James Sr. says "you did not know about Potter family vault"

"No, I informed in my eighteen's birthday, about it and other Potter properties like Potter Manor"

"Ok"

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's -- it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

**"One speed only," said Griphook.**

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least -- but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

"What was that?" Sirius says

"You'll see" Harry says

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life -- more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

"You just saw small part of your fortune" James Sr. says

"I know it" Harry says

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick,**

"Poor Hagrid"

**so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here -- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. "**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool**

"He looks like a Malfoy" James Sr. says

**while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him) slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to take at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

"Oh"

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"Best sport in the world" James Sr. Says excitedly and then looks disappointed that his son has low interesting about Quidditch.

**"I do -- Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

"Gryffindor, of course" James Sr. says "All Potters are in Gryffindor. Also, nobody knew before sorting"

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

"You are not stupid Harry, you only do not have information about wizardry world" Ginny says

"Thanks Gin" Harry says

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been**

"Defiantly a Malfoy" James Sr. says

**imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"There is nothing about Hufflepuff, you Slytherin git" Sirius says

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in. **

"It was nice of him" Lily says

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage -- lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"Git"

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

**"Oh, sorry," said the other,. not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"**

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same; they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families.**

"Pure-Blood Nonsense" Sirius says

**What's your surname, anyway?"**

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know -- not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"--and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in.**

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were -- he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line 0' Muggles -- look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

Lily Sr. looks sad by mentioning her sister

**"So what is Quidditch?"**

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like -- like soccer in the Muggle world -- everyone follows Quidditch -- played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls -- sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but --"**

"Hufflepuffs are not duffers; they are loyal and hard working" Remus says

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

"Nope"

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

**"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

**Harry felt himself go red.**

**"You don't have to --"**

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.**

"That's sweet of him" Lily Sr. says

"My real first Birthday present" Harry says and looks sad by mentioning his first owl, Hedwig.

**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

Everyone laughs at Harry's behavior

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

"Everyone does" Sirius says

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled.**

"You senses magic, it is impressive" Remus says

**The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"How did he remember it?" Lily Sr. says

"It's his life" Remus says

"So, Charm is your favorite subject, mum" Harry says

"Charm and Potion" Lily Sr. says

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it**

"Yours is Transfiguration, dad" Harry says

"Yep"

**-- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

**"And that's where..."**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do...."**

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again.... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

**"Er -- yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sit," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now -- Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er -- well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of**

**a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite**

**the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try --"**

**Harry tried -- but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

"How many wands did you try?" James Sr. says

"Enough" Harry says

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere -- I wonder, now - - yes, why not -- unusual combination -- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework,**

"Impressive"

**throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "**

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..**

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**

"WHAT" everyone in room shout

"Your wand and that Voldemort's are brothers" James Sr. says

"Yep"

**Harry swallowed.**

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember.... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.... After all, He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things -- terrible, yes, but great."**

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked**

**down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life -- and yet -- he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry -- I mean, the night my parents died."**

The room atmosphere becomes sad

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine.**

"That's right"

**just be yerself.**

"Good advice"

**I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts -- I did -- still do, 'smatter of fact."**

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September -- King's Cross -- it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me.... See yeh soon, Harry."**

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"this is end of chapter" Teddy says "Who wants to read next

"Me" Sirius says

Teddy hands book to him


	7. The Journey From Platform Nine and Three

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

Chapter Seven: The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

"**The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**" Sirius reads

"Your first trip on Hogwarts Express" James Sr. says

"Yes, dad" Harry says

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him -- in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.**

"It is a little improvement" Remus says

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**

"It is true"

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig,**

"It is a beautiful name" Lily Sr. says and beams at his son who beams too.

Harry was a little sad he liked his first owl much.

**a name he had found in A History of Magic. His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

"You were really eager to going to Hogwarts" Sirius says

"Yep"

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**

Everyone laughs

"Why did he do that?" George says

"I have wand and he scared from magic" Harry says

"Oh"

**"Er -- Uncle Vernon?"**

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

**"Er -- I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to -- to go to Hogwarts."**

**Uncle Vernon grunted again.**

**"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"**

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

"Really? I think you should be assure that they do that" Sirius says

"After ten years, I knew what they mean" Harry says

"I think you are right" Sirius says

**"Thank you."**

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

**"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

"They are illegal" Arthur says

"They did not know that, even I did not too." Harry says

**Harry didn't say anything.**

**"Where is this school, anyway?"**

"In Scotland" Sirius says

"We know it Sirius, continue" Lily Sr. says

**"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.**

**"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read.**

**His aunt and uncle stared.**

**"Platform what?"**

**"Nine and three-quarters."**

**"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**

"They thought I am mental" Harry says

**"It's on my ticket."**

**"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

**"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

Everyone laughs by mentioning that pig tail.

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes -- he'd change on the train.**

"Wise decision"

**He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

**"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine -- platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"**

"Hagrid did not tell you about barrier" Lily Sr. says

"No mum" Harry says

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile.**

"Git"

**He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone.**

"Muggles did not know about Hogwarts or platform" Remus says

**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters.**

"It seem you have Lily's brain" Remus says

"Thanks God" Lily Sr. says

"Many say that I have Dad's appearance but Mum's Personality" Harry says

"It's good" Lily Sr. says

**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

"Do not do that, you attract attention of Muggles" Lily Sr. says

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"-- packed with Muggles, of course --"**

"Thanks God, they must be wizards" Lily Sr. says

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**

"It must be you,Molly" Remus says

"I think" Molly says

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him -- and they had an owl.**

"Errol" Weasleys says

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**

**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go... "**

"it must be you, Mum" Lily Jr. says

"I Thinks" Ginny says

**"You're not old enough, Ginny,**

"Yes, it is my beautiful Ginerva" Harry says

Ginny glare at him, she hates that call by her full name but Harry was exception, she likes when Harry calls her by that name.

"Why did you call Ginny that?" Lily Sr. says

"It is my full name, I do not like call with it but Harry is exception" Ginny says

**now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**

Percy smiles by mentioning his name

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it -- but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**

All room, except people from past, become sad by mentioning Fred.

**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"**

**"Sorry, George, dear."**

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy,**

Everyone laugh

"The twin must be amazing" James says

"I think so, Prongs" Sirius says

"You have no idea, another James Potter and Sirius Black and this time there is no Remus Lupin with them" Minerva says

Three Marauders grin

"I think you have an other James Potter next year, Minerva" Harry says and laughs "James have Dad and Padfoot personality"

James Jr. grins

"Just my luck" Minerva says

James Sr. and Sirius look at Harry's Eldest with mischievous grin _we should teach him some pranks_

**and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone -- but how had he done it?**

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there -- and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**

**There was nothing else for it.**

**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.**

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

"Dad" Rose and Hugo say excitedly unison

Ron smiles by mentioning his name

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

"Exact description of Ron" George says

**"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is -- the thing is, I don't know how to --"**

**"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

"That is nice of you. Molly" Lily sr. says and walks toward Molly and Hugs her

Molly smiles

**"Er -- okay," said Harry.**

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble -- leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run -- the barrier was coming nearer and nearer -- he wouldn't be able to stop -- the cart was out of control -- he was a foot away -- he closed his eyes ready for the crash --**

**It didn't come... he kept on running... he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people.**

"Hogwarts Express" Everyone says unison

**A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, He had done it.**

"Well done, pup" Sirius says

"Thanks Padfoot" Harry says

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

"It must be Neville" Ginny says

**"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.**

"See"

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**

**"Give us a look, Lee, go on."**

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.**

"Ouch"

"You must be careful, Harry" Lily Sr. says with motherly tone

Harry beams at his mother

**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

**"Yes, please," Harry panted.**

**"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"**

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

**"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you**

**"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.**

**"What?" said Harry.**

**"Harry Potter, "chorused the twins.**

**"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am."**

"Why did you say 'him'?" James Sr. says

"I did not used to call by name, Dursleys call me boy or freak" Harry says

"Oh"

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

**"Fred? George? Are you there?"**

**"Coming, Mom."**

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.**

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

**"Ron, you've got something on your nose."**

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

**"Mom -- geroff" He wriggled free.**

Everyone laugh at Ron's behavior and Ron blushes

**"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**

**"Shut up," said Ron.**

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother.**

**"He's coming now."**

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.**

"So you were perfect" James Sr. says

"Yes, Mr. Potter" Percy says

"Call me James, Mr. Potter is my Dad" James Sr. says

**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves –**

**"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."**

**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once --"**

**"Or twice --"**

**"A minute --"**

**"All summer --"**

Everyone laugh

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**

**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.**

**"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term -- send me an owl when you get there."**

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.**

**"Now, you two -- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've -- you've blown up a toilet or --"**

**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."**

**"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."**

"Never give a prankster idea" James Sr. and Sirius say unison

**"It's not funny. And look after Ron."**

**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**

**"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"**

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

**"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"**

**"Who?"**

**"Harry Potter!"**

**Harry heard the little girl's voice.**

**"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please...."**

Everyone laugh

"Someone had a crash on me" Harry teases his wife

"Why should I had a crash on a skinny boy that had a funny scar on his forehead" Ginny teases too

"Because you like me" Harry says

"No way" Ginny says

"Fine" Harry says

"I think we should go on" Hermione says

**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"**

**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning."**

**"Poor dear - no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."**

**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**

**Their mother suddenly became very stern.**

**"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."**

**"All right, keep your hair on."**

**A whistle sounded.**

**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."**

**"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."**

Everyone laughs

**"George!"**

**"Only joking, Mom."**

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

"You were really eager to go Hogwarts" Lily Sr. says

"Yes, from moment Bill went to Hogwarts I waited to my turn" Ginny says

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.**

**"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."**

"I think you two become friend soon, like me and Padfoot" James Sr. says

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**

**"Hey, Ron."**

**The twins were back.**

**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train -- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**

"Cool" James Sr. and Sirius say unison

**"Right," mumbled Ron.**

**"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then.**

**"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

**"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

**Harry nodded.**

**"Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got -- you know..."**

**He pointed at Harry's forehead.**

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**

**"So that's where You-Know-Who**

**"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."**

**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**

**"Well -- I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."**

**"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**

**"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**

**"Er -- Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Why?" Lily Sr. says

"He didn't want and he was very busy" Molly says

**"So you must know loads of magic already."**

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**

**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**

**"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**

**"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left -- Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."**

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

**"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff -- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."**

Trio looks dark by mentioning Scabbers

**Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

"Thanks mate" Ron says

"Your welcome" Harry says

**"... and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort"**

**Ron gasped.**

**"What?" said Harry.**

**"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people --"**

"You feared from his name, it just a name" James Sr. says

"I have not problem with is now" Ron Defends himself

**"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn.... I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

"Nope, you will be good" Ginny says

"Thanks love" Harry says and Kisses her quickly

"Aww"

**"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."**

"See, even Ron thinks so" Ginny says

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"**

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry -- but the woman didn't have Mars Bars.**

"What are they?" Sirius says

"They are very delicious Muggle chocolate "Harry says

"Oh"

**What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

"Wow, you were really hungry" James Sr. says

"Yes and I wanted to examined all of them" Harry says

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

**"Hungry, are you?"**

**"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."**

"you should told me Ron" Molly says

**"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on --"**

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."**

**"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies**

"it was nice of you,dear" Molly says kindly

**(the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

"Sorry mum" Ron says

"No problem, I understand" Molly says

**"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs."They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.**

**"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."**

**"What?"**

**"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know -- Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect -- famous witches and wizards. I've got aboutfive hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**

"First time that I saw my mentor" Harry says

"Mentor?" James Sr. says "so, you should like him very much"

"You have no idea" Hermione says

Minerva McGonagall beams at her old student; she knows how much Harry loves her dead friend.

**"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**

**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa -- thanks**

**Harry turned over his card and read:**

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS**

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.**

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**

**"He's gone!"**

**"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting."**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.**

**"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**

**"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"**

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor -- you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger flavored one once."**

"Ew"

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.**

**"Bleaaargh -- see? Sprouts."**

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.**

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in.**

"Neville" Harry says

**He looked tearful.**

"Why?" Lily Sr. says

"You'll see" Harry says

**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"**

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

"Poor boy"

**"He'll turn up," said Harry.**

**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."**

**He left.**

**"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."**

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

**"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."**

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.**

**"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway**

**He had just raised his 'wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**

**"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

"It is my smart Hermione" Ron says excitedly

Hermione beams at her husband

**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

**"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."**

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.**

**"Er -- all right."**

**He cleared his throat.**

**"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

Everyone laugh at Ron's spell

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.**

**"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard -- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough -- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you.**

**She said all this very fast.**

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he**

**hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

**"Harry Potter," said Harry.**

**"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.**

**"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.**

**"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad.... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."**

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

"Sorry Love" Ron says

"It is Ok" Hermione says

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell -- George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."**

"Yep" George says

**"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.**

**"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad,**

"but you never put in Ravenclaw" Hermione says "You do not have smart quality to be a Ravenclaw"

"I know" Ron says

**but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**

"No way"

**"That's the house Vol-, I mean; You-Know-Who was in?"**

**"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

**"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"**

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles -- someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

**Harry stared.**

**"Really? What happened to them?"**

**"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You- Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

"Because you are Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived" Ron says "person who cause downfall of him"

"But it is just a name" Harry says "it is ridiculous to fear from a name"

"You're right" Ron says

**"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**

**"Er -- I don't know any," Harry confessed.**

**"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world --" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.**

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"**

**"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**

"What a pleasure" Sirius says

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

**"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."**

"Hey"

"Weasleys are more worth than you pure-blood git" James Sr. says

All Weasley beam at him

"Thanks James" Arthur says

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."**

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.**

**"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.**

"Good one, Son" James Sr. says

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.**

**"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

"Git"

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

**"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

"No, fight not eases this" Lily Sr. says

**"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.**

**"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.**

"Like a true Gryffindor" James Sr. says

"Like Father, like Son" Lily Sr. huffs

**"But we don't feet like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."**

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle –**

"Go on Scabbers"

**Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

**"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**

**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No -- I don't believe it -- he's gone back to sleep-"**

"You ignored me" Hermione huffs

"Sorry love, my mind was in Malfoy and Sc- that rat" Ron says

**And so he had.**

**"You've met Malfoy before?"**

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley**.

**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

**"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"**

**"All right -- I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.**

"You tried to be friend with them" Lily Sr. Says

"Yes, but they did not notice" Hermione says

**"And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

Everyone laugh

"I knew a certain couple does that" Sirius says and points to Lily Sr. and James Sr.

"Shut up Padfoot" James Sr. says

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.**

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.**

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale underhis freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"**

"Hagrid"

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**

**"C'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"**

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

**"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."**

**There was a loud "Oooooh!"**

"It is exciting to see Hogwarts for first time" Lily Sr. says

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

**"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!"**

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

**"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

**"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

**"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.**

**"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"**

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"This is end of chapter" Sirius says "Who wants read next"

"Me" Lily Sr. says

Sirius hands book to her


	8. The Sorting Hat

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

**thanks to Taeniaea for last chapter Review**

Chapter Eight: The Sorting Hat

"**The Sorting Hat**" Lily Sr. reads

"We are going to see your sorting ceremony" Remus says and Trio nod

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there.**

"It must be you, Professor" Remus says

"I think so, " Minerva says

**She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**

"It is exactly what you should think" Minerva says

**"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.**

**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."**

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.**

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here -- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.**

**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.**

**"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.**

**"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."**

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.**

"It does not work" Sirius says

**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"Please wait quietly."**

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.**

**"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.**

"By Sorting Hat" Sirius says

"We know it Sirius, Thanks" Lily Sr. says

**"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet -- what on earth would he have to do?**

"Relax Harry, you'll be fine" James Sr. says

**He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue.**

"Your son is amazing, Prongs" Sirius says

"After all he is son of a Marauder" James Sr. says

"Thanks Dad and you Padfoot" Harry says

Lily Sr. shakes her head and says "Like father, like son"

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom. **

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air -- several people behind him screamed.**

**"What the --?"**

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance --"**

**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"**

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.**

**Nobody answered.**

**"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"**

**A few people nodded mutely.**

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."**

**"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."**

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.**

**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."**

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."**

"You read the entire book" Sirius says

"Yes" Hermione says

"Wow, you like Moony" Sirius says

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.**

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly,**

"Why exactly should you do that?" Sirius says

"It is kind of Muggle's Magic" Harry says

"Oh"

**that seemed the sort of thing -- noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth -- and the hat began to sing:**

**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**

**But don't judge on what you see,**

**I'll eat myself if you can find**

**A smarter hat than me.**

**You can keep your bowlers black,**

**Your top hats sleek and tall,**

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat**

**And I can cap them all.**

**There's nothing hidden in your head**

**The Sorting Hat can't see,**

**So try me on and I will tell you**

**Where you ought to be.**

**You might belong in Gryffindor,**

**Where dwell the brave at heart,**

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;**

**You might belong in Hufflepuff,**

**Where they are just and loyal,**

**Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;**

**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,**

**if you've a ready mind,**

**Where those of wit and learning,**

**Will always find their kind;**

**Or perhaps in Slytherin**

**You'll make your real friends,**

**Those cunning folk use any means**

**To achieve their ends.**

**So put me on! Don't be afraid!**

**And don't get in a flap!**

**You're in safe hands (though I have none)**

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.**

**"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."**

Trio exchange looks by mentioning troll

**Harry. smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather alot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.**

"Relax Harry, you'll be fine" Lily Sr. says motherly

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"**

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause --**

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.**

**"Bones, Susan!"**

"Is she related to Amelia Bones?" Lily Sr. says

"Yes, she is her niece" Hermione says

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**

**"Boot, Terry!"**

**"RAVENCLAW!"**

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.**

"**Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.**

"Git"

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"**

**"HUFFLEPUFF!"**

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

**"Granger, Hermione!"**

"it is your turn, mum" Rose and Hugo say

"Yes" Hermione says and beams at her children

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.**

"Yes" James Sr. And Sirius shout

**Ron groaned.**

"Sorry love" Ron says

"It's alright" Hermione says

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?**

"It never happens" Remus says

**When Neville Longbottom,**

"He must be Frank and Alice's son" James Sr. says

"Yes dad, he is" Harry says

**the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."**

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last -- "Potter, Harry!"**

"it is your turn, Son" James Sr. Says

"Yes, dad" Harry says

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**

**"Potter, did she say?"**

**The Harry Potter?"**

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

**Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes -- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting.... So where shall I put you?"**

"So he can put you in all four houses" Remus says

"But he'll be Gryffindor, All Potters are" James Sr. Says

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.**

"No way" James Sr. says

"It does not matter to me, you'll be my son" Lily Sr. says

"Thanks mum" Harry says

**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that -- no? Well, if you're sure -- better be GRYFFINDOR!"**

"YES" James Sr. and Sirius yell unison

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin; he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.**

"Nick" Sirius says

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.**

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"**

"Yes"

"So you three become Gryffindor" Lily Sr. says

"Yes" Trio say unison

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him.**

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley Pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.**

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**

**"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**

Everyone laugh

"Albus has his style" Minerva says

**"Thank you!"**

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.**

**"Is he -- a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**

"Harry" Lily Sr. says

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"**

**Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.**

"do you have to mention all of them, I am going to be hungry" Sirius says

"Do not worry Padfoot, after this chapter we have dinner" Harry says

"I think it's good" Sirius says

"Just like someone" Hermione says and looks at her husband

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick.**

"Fat git" Sirius says

**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.**

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak,**

**"Can't you --?"**

**I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."**

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you**

**-- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**

**"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy --" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.**

**"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"**

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.**

**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So -- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row!**

"What" James Sr. and Sirius say unison.

"That bloody snakes, win house cup for six year in a row" James Sr. says

**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable -- he's the Slytherin ghost."**

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**

"But I know" Harry says

Everyone in room stare at him

"How?" Sirius says

"You'll find it in future" Harry says

"Your son is mean, Prongs" Sirius says

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding -- "**

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart,**

"It is my favorite" Lily Sr. says

"It is mine too" Harry says

"It is mine too" Albus says

"It seems Emerald eyes like it" Sirius says

Three of them beams at each other and say unison "it is"

**the talk turned to their families.**

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

**The others laughed.**

**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.**

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville,**

"What happened to Frank and Alice?" Lily Sr. says

"You'll see" Harry says sadly

"I don't like this" Lily Sr. says

**"but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpoll pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced -- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here -- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."**

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult-"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing -- ").**

"Typical Hermione" Harry and Ron say unison and Hermione glares at them

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.**

"WHAT" James Sr. and Sirius yell.

"That greasy git becomes a teacher" Sirius say

"James, Sirius. Severus is not that bad" Lily says

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes -- and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. **

"What Happened?" Lily Sr. says worried

"Nothing important, mum" Harry says. He does not want his mother knows about Voldemort

**"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.**

**"What is it?" asked Percy.**

**"N-nothing."**

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look -- a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all.**

"You are right, it is because of me" James Sr. says

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.**

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to -- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**

"Severus is good in potions." Lily says

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.**

**"Ahern -- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.**

**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."**

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

"True Pranksters" James Sr. and Sirius say unison and grin at George who grins them back

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.**

**"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.**

**"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."**

"Why?" Sirius says

"You'll find in few chapters" Harry says

"Fine" Sirius says

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.**

**"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.**

"Of course he is not, I am Sirius" Sirius says

Lily Sr. glares at him and shakes her head, then continues

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."**

"Not really, Mr. Weasley" Minerva says "there is something that any student doesn't allow to know about them"

**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.**

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.**

**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:**

**"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,**

**Teach us something please,**

**Whether we be old and bald**

**Or young with scabby knees,**

**Our heads could do with filling**

**With some interesting stuff,**

**For now they're bare and full of air,**

**Dead flies and bits of fluff,**

**So teach us things worth knowing,**

**Bring back what we've forgot,**

**just do your best, we'll do the rest,**

**And learn until our brains all rot.**

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.**

Everyone laugh

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"**

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.**

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.**

**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves -- show yourself"**

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**

**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**

**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"**

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**

**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.**

**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."**

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

"Fat lady" Sirius says

"We are all Gryffindors and we know who is she" lily Sr. says and huffs

**"Password?" she said. "Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it -- Neville needed a leg up -- and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase -- they were obviously in one of the towers -- they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.**

"**Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."**

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.**

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully -- and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it -then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laughbecame high and cold -- there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.**

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all**

"This is end of chapter" Lily Sr. says "Who wants read next"

"Me" Bill says

Lily Sr. hands book to him

"I think it's dinner time" Harry says "we can continue after dinner"

"I like this" Sirius and Ron say unison


	9. The Potions Master

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

**thanks to Taeniaea for last chapter Review**

Chapter Nine: The Potions Master

Dinner finishes

"The Dinner was excellent, it is one of the best meal that I eat" Sirius says

"I agree" Ron says

"only thing that you care about it is food, Ronald" Hermione huffs

"Of course not, I just the food was excellent" Ron says

"I think we should return to living room and continue reading" Harry says

All of them nod in agreement and walk toward living room

"Dad?" Harry says

"Yes, Harry? What's up?" James Sr. says

"Do you recognize Pinky?" Harry says

"Pinky? Yes when I born, Pinky worked here, she was young."

"Why do not you speak to her?" Harry says

"Because I do not belong to this time and I am dead 34 years ago" James Sr. says

"I think I get your point" Harry says

Everyone enter living room and sit on their spot.

Bill picks the book up and opens it

"**The Potions Master**" Bill reads

"Great, we must read about that greasy git" Sirius says

"Sirius" Lily Sr. snaps

"I know you were friends, Lily. But you know we hate each other." Sirius says

"What did I say before start reading this book, Sirius" Harry says

"Do not judge everyone until the books finish, I try to remember it" Sirius says

"Good, Continue Bill" Harry says

**There, look."**

**"Where?"**

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."**

**"Wearing the glasses?"**

**"Did you see his face?"**

**"Did you see his scar?"**

"I hate when people point me or speak about me" Harry says

"You are famous Harry, like it or not" Hermione says

"I hate I am famous for what I do not remember" Harry says "continue Bill"

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring.**

"That's rude" Lily Sr. says

"I know mum, but I can't prevent it. People stares and points at me yet" Harry says

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**

"you did not have map" James Sr. says

"Not yet" Harry says

"Wait, what map?" Lily Sr. says

"You'll find in future" Harry says and points to Bill to continue reading

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**

"You count them" Sirius says

"Almost" Harry says

**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.**

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class.**

"Old Peeves"

**He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

"Typical Peeves"

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor.**

"What did you exactly do there?" Lily Sr. and Molly say unison

"We lost way, mum" Harry and Ron say unison

"Ok" Two women say

**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**

"Thanks God, someone rescue you from that crazy squib" James Sr. says

Harry looks at his best friends and mouths 'Quirrell, trapdoor' and they nod

"What's matter, Harry?" Lily Sr. says

"Nothing, mum" Harry says "continue Bill"

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.**

"I hate that cat" Harry says

"I think every student hates that cat" Ron says

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins)**

"Do you?" James Sr. asks

"Yep" George says and mouths 'Marauder's Map'

"Ok" James Sr. says

**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

"of course it is" Hermione says

"We know it mione, and I was eleven" Harry says

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.**

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

"Good old Flitwick" James Sr. Says

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross.**

"Yes Harry, you were right" Minerva says

**Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**

"Our best class was this, and because of good old Minnie" Sirius says

"Thanks Mr. Black, and Do not call me that" Minerva says

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.**

"You must be good" Remus says

"She was cleverest in our year" Ron says proudly and Hermione beams at her husband

"I think you did not inherit my transfiguration skill, Son" James Sr. says

"No, dad" Harry says

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke.**

"But it is one of most important classes in Hogwarts" James Sr. says

**His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

Trio exchange looks by mentioning turban

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

"Even wizardy family does not learn important things to their children and you can't do it without wand" Minerva says

"What about wandless magic" Harry says

"You must be very powerful to do it properly" Minerva says

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**

**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

**"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape is Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them -- we'll be able to see if it's true."**

"Git" Sirius says

"Sirius" Lily Sr. says

"Sorry Lily" Sirius says

**"Wish McGonagall favored us" said Harry.**

"I have my own way to do it" Minerva says

"I know it, Minerva" Harry says and beams at his old teacher who beams back

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

**Dear Harry,**

**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?**

**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.**

**Hagrid**

"It seems that that Hagrid likes you" Lily Sr. says

"You have no idea" Ginny says "Hagrid loves Harry as much as Professor Dumbledore"

Lily Sr. smiles, she knows that someone cares about her son

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry -- he hated him.**

"Dad?" Albus says

"Yes Albus?" Harry says

"Why did you name me after someone that hates you?" Albus says

"If you wait until end of last book, I think you'll get your answer" Harry says

"Ok dad, I wait" Albus says

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

**"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new -- celebrity."**

"Greasy git"

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word -- like Professor McGonagall, Snape had y caught every word -- like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**

"Of course she is not, she is our Hermione" Ron and Harry say unison and Hermione beams at them

**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

"Draught of Living Death, but it is N.E.W.T level potion; of course first years did not know it" Lily Sr. says

**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.**

"You knew it" Lily Sr. says

"Yes, Mrs. Potter" Hermione says

"Call me Lily, Mrs. Potter was my mother-in-law, and that is impressive that you know that potion" Lily Sr. says

"Thanks" Hermione says

**"I don't know, sir" said Harry.**

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.**

**"Tut, tut -- fame clearly isn't everything."**

"Greasy git"

**He ignored Hermione's hand.**

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**

"A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons" Lily says "but you did not learn it until end of year"

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

"Gits"

**"I don't know, sir." "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?**

"If you have a terrible teacher like him, you should have" Harry says

"Professor Snape was not terrible teacher, Harry" Hermione says

"He loves to humiliate other students than his favorite Slytherins. If he was genius in Potions, his methods of teaching was terrible and you it very well, Hermione" Harry says

Hermione does not answer and Harry points to Bill to continue

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

"They are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite, but it is not a question that a first year knows it, Severus" Lily Sr. says

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"You are really eager to answer questions" Sirius says

"It is a habit" Hermione says

**"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

"Go on, Harry" Sirius says

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.**

**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise,Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

"Leave him alone you greasy git" Sirius says

"It is not polite to speak to a teacher like that Mr. Black, even you _hate_ him" Minerva says

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

"Poor Neville" Lily Sr. says

**"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

"This is not way to speak to a student, Severus" Lily Sr. says

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

**"You -- Potter -- why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"Do have any answer to this, Lily?" James Sr. says angrily "sorry Harry, he does it because of me"

"That's alright, dad" Harry says

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

**"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**

"Good thinking, Ron" Hermione says

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week**

"Two points is nothing" George says "we lost more"

**-- why did Snape hate him so much?**

"Because you looks like me and he hates me" James Sr. says

**"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

"You are a good friend Ron" James Sr. says

"He is" Harry says

"Thanks" Ron says and beams at his best friend

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang -- back."**

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

**"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."**

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

**"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

"Do not eat them, pup" Sirius says "Hagrid's cooking is terrible"

**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

"You are amazing" Sirius says and looks at George

"Thanks Padfoot" George says

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first -lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

"It seems Fang likes you" James Sr. says

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Fitch "that old git."**

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her -- Fitch puts her up to it."**

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

**"But he seemed to really hate me."**

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

"It means he knows something and does not want to tell me" Harry says

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot -- great with animals."**

"I like him too" Charlie says

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:**

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.**

**Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.**

"It means the thief want to steels the package Hagrid picks from vault 713" James Sr. says

"Not really, it can be other vaults" Remus says

**"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.**

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time.**

"This is a proof for my previous sentence" James Sr. says

**He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

"See, even Harry thinks same way" James Sr. says "you can be a good Auror, Son"

"Thanks are you an Auror?" Harry says

"Yes, me and Sirius" James Sr. says

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"Of course, he knows" James Sr. says "everyone in Hogwarts knew it"

"This is end of chapter" Bill says "Who wants read next"

"Me" James Sr. says

Bill hands book to him


	10. The Midnight Duel

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

**thanks to zaz14 is a potter mad and timeturneruser for Reviews**

Chapter Ten: The Midnight Duel

"**The Midnight Duel**" James Sr. reads

"What does suppose it mean?" Lily Sr. says "you have a duel in midnight"

"Er…." Only word that Harry says

"Great" Lily Sr. says

"Your son is amazing, Prongs" Sirius says

"I know" James Sr. says

"Like father, like son" Lily Sr. huffs

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.**

"I do not hate them anymore" Harry says

"What did change your opinion?" Sirius says

"You'll see in future" Harry says "Exactly at end of last book"

**Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan.**

"Something hits me now" Harry says "why should Gryffindors and Slytherins have a joint class. They hate each other. Why did you do it, Minerva?"

"We thought you can dissolve this problem" Minerva says

**Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday -- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

**"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**

"You never make a fool on a broomstick, Potters are good fliers" James Sr. says and still disappointed about his son's low interesting in Quidditch

"Thanks dad" Harry says

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

"Only thing the boys interest, Quidditch" Lily Sr. says

"No, it is one of them" James Sr. says

"What is other?" Lily Sr. says

"Girls and foods" James Sr. says

Lily Sr. huffs

**"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

"Exactly"

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**

"Boys" all women in room say

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

Everybody laugh

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

"That was not nice Harry" Lily Sr. says

"What? That was true and this is in my thought, I did not tell him" Harry says

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book -- not that she hadn't tried.**

"Exactly, you must have talent in flying" James Sr. says "books can't help you"

**At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages.**

"it is a good book, but it is explain Quidditch roles and other thing related to Quidditch, not how to fly" James Sr. says

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**

Hermione huffs

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**

"Remembrall, it helps you to know you forget something but what do you forget" Remus says

**"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red -- oh..." His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet,**

**"You've forgotten something..." **

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. **

"Git"

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy,**

"No, Fight does not ease thing" Lily sr. says

**but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**

"Thanks God" Lily Sr. says

**"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."**

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.**

**"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

"Git"

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms,**

"School Broomsticks are terrible" James Sr. says "if you can handle with it properly, you are good flier"

**saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

**"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

"It is not bad" James Sr. says

**"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'**

**"UP" everyone shouted.**

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did.**

"You must be good flier" James Sr. says "Do you like Quidditch?"

"Maybe" Harry says

"Ok" James Sr. says and shakes his head

**Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"That is great" James Sr. says

**"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle -- three**

**two --"**

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before thewhistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

**"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle -- twelve feet -- twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and – **

"What happened" Lily Sr. says worriedly

"He fell on his broom" Harry says

"Is he alright" Lily Sr. says

"Yes, mum" Harry says

**WHAM -- a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**

**"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy -- it's all right, up you get.".**

**She turned to the rest of the class.**

**"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."**

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

"Git"

"Someone needs teach him a lesson" Sirius says

**"Did you see his face, the great lump?"**

**The other Slytherins joined in.**

**"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**

"Go on"

**"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."**

"Shut up stupid ugly Slytherin" Sirius says

**"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

**"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.**

"Go on Harry" Sirius says

**Malfoy smiled nastily.**

**"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find -- how about -- up a tree?"**

"Slytherin git"

**"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**

"No, do not listen to him" Lily Sr. says

**Harry grabbed his broom.**

"No" Lily Sr. says

"Sorry mum but I had to do this" Harry says

"Go on Harry" James Sr. says

"Like father, like son" Lily Sr. huffs

**"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move -- you'll get us all into trouble."**

"There is not us, there is me" Harry says

"Whatever" Hermione says

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him -and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught -- this was easy, this was wonderful.**

"You are Natural, Harry" James Sr. says

**He pulled his broomstick upa little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

"You flew amazing, mate" Ron says

"Thanks Ron" Harry says

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**

"He did not expect that you can fly" Ron says

**"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" "Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**

"Go on Harry" Sirius says

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

"That was amazing" James Sr. says "you can be a good Quidditch player"

**"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**

"Good one, pup" Sirius says

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**

**"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**

"Coward"

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down -- next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball -- wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching -- he stretched out his hand -- a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

Everyone in room stare at Harry

Potter children look at their father unbelievingly. They know that their father is good but not this good.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, HOW DARE YOU DO IT, and YOU MIGHT HAVE BROKEN YOUR NECK" Lily Sr. yells

"Calm down Lily" James Sr. says "that was incredible caught. Tell me you are in the team, Harry"

"Maybe" Harry says

"Your son is mean Prongs" Sirius says

**"HARRY POTTER!"**

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling.**

"Oh No" Lily Sr. says

"Do not worry Lils, Minerva is a big Quidditch fan" James Sr. says

**"Never -- in all my time at Hogwarts --"**

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "-- how dare you -- might have broken your neck --"**

**"It wasn't his fault, Professor --"**

**"Be quiet, Miss Patil**

**"But Malfoy --"**

**"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"Nope, she only she you a detention" James Sr. says

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

"Relax, Harry" Sirius says

"We have done worst than this but we did not expelled" James Sr. says

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

Everyone laugh by imagining that scene

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**

**"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"**

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**

George and Angelina laugh

"You thought Oliver is a cane" George says during laugh

"That was funniest thing that I ever hear" Angelina says during laugh

"Who is Wood" Sirius says

"You'll see" Harry says

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwicks class looking confused.**

**"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.**

**"In here."**

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**

**"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**

**"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood -- I've found you a Seeker."**

"YES" James Sr. and Sirius say cheerfully and start to dance

"My son is a Seeker at his first year" James Sr. says "You can be a brilliant Seeker, Son"

Other stares at Harry, any first years could not go to Quidditch team.

"You are best, dad" Albus says "I can not wait that you learn me Seeker techniques"

"Thanks Albus, I try learn you best techniques" Harry says

"Thanks Dad" Albus says

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**

**"Are you serious, Professor?"**

**"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"**

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**

**"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."**

"No, I couldn't. It seems Gryffindor can win Quidditch cup" Charlie says

"Harry is best seeker that Gryffindor ever had, even after 17 year after him Gryffindor could not find a Seeker like Harry" Minerva says

"Really?" James Sr. says

"Yes" Minerva says

James Sr. turns to Harry and Says "I am so proud of you, Son"

"Thanks Dad" Harry says "Thanks Minerva"

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**

**"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**

**"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**

**"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**

"Get Nimbus" James Sr. says

**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks...."**

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**

**"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."**

"This is best detention, I ever seen" James Sr. says

**Then she suddenly smiled.**

**"Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**

"I am proud of him and Thank you, Minerva" James Sr. Says

**"You're joking."**

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**

**"Seeker?" he said. "But first years never -- you must be the youngest house player in- **

**about a century, said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed; he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

**"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.**

**"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too -- Beaters."**

**"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

**"Anyway, we've got to go; Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."**

**"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."**

"First week, Impressive" Sirius says

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**

**"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**

"Git"

**"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

**"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only -- no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"**

**"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"**

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**

**"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."**

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. "What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**

**"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**

**"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**

**"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**

"Good one, Ron" Sirius says

**"Excuse me."**

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**

**"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**

"Sorry mione" Ron says

Hermione huffs

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.**

**"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying --"**

**"Bet you could," Ron muttered.**

"No really" Hermione says "I want to see what happens to Harry and hear your argument with Malfoy"

**"--and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**

**"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.**

"Sorry mione" Harry says

"It is alright" Hermione says

**"Good-bye," said Ron.**

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

"It is good advice" Sirius says

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoys sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**

"Like father, like son" Lily Sr. huffs

**"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."**

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turningall the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."**

"I really can not believe you Harry, too" Lily Sr. says

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.**

**"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**

**"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy -- he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."**

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**

"Sorry" Harry says

"I forgave you for ages" Hermione says

**"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**

**"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**

**"Go away." "All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so --"**

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**

"Oh No" Lily Sr says

**"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**

**"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we are going to be late."**

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**

**"I'm coming with you," she said.**

**"You are not."**

**"Do you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."**

"Do you think that really they do that" Lily Sr. says

"Yes, Harry is too noble for seeing someone in troubles because of himself" Hermione says

**"You've got some nerve --" said Ron loudly.**

"Like a certain couple that I know" Sirius says and looks at James Sr. and Lily Sr.

**"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. I heard something."**

**It was a sort of snuffling.**

**"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.**

**"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."**

**"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."**

**"How's your arm?" said Harry.**

"This is nice of you that care about your friends" Lily Sr. says

**"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."**

**"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later --"**

**"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**

**"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.**

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**

"No, I did not want explain it" Hermione says

**but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.**

**"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**

"Nope, he tricked you" Sirius says

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.**

**"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris.**

"Defiantly tricked you and told to filch" Sirius says

**Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**

**"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**

**"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.**

**The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

**"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -- they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going -- they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

**"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

**I -- told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I -- told -- you."**

**"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**

**"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you -- Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

"Fine" Hermione says

"Sorry" Harry says

**"Let's go."**

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**

**It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**

**"Shut up, Peeves -- please -- you'll get us thrown out." Peeves cackled.**

**"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."**

**"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."**

**"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."**

**"Get out of the way," snapped Ron,**

"It was Bad move Ron, Peeves loves students be in trouble" Sirius says

**taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.**

**"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR"**

"See"

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door -- and it was locked.**

**"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**

"Not when you have Hermione " Harry says

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.**

**"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"**

"See" Harry says

Hermione beams at him

**The lock clicked and the door swung open -- they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

**"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."**

**"Say 'please."'**

**"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"**

**"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in hisannoying singsong voice.**

**"All right -please."**

**"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**

"Good old Peeves, I forget he do not like Filch too" Sirius says

**"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay-- get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?"**

**Harry turned around -- and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare -- this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

"WHAT" everyone say in room

"Run, pup" Sirius says

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

**Harry groped for the doorknob -- between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**

"Good Decision" Sirius says

**They fell backward -- Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared -- all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**

"Thanks God" Lily Sr. says

**"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.**

**"Never mind that -- pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.**

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

**"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**

"Not time for joking, Ronald" Molly says

"Sorry mum" Ron says

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on.**

**"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**

**"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**

"you are very observant, Mione" Harry says

"Not always" Hermione says

"Wait a minute, you said the dog was standing a trapdoor" Remus says

"Yes, why?" Hermione says

"I ..nothing" remus says

"What's up moony?" James Sr. says

"I think I know where that package from vault 713 is now" Remus says

"You say that DOG guarding that package" James Sr. says

"Yes" Remus says

**She stood up, glaring at them.**

**I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed -- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**

"You thought explosion is worse than death" Sirius says

"No, I was frightened from that dog" Hermione says

"Oh"

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**

**"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you.**

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something.... What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide -- except perhaps Hogwarts.**

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

"See, even Harry thinks same way" Remus says

"You'll be a very good Auror, Harry" James Sr. says

"Thanks dad" Harry says

"This is end of chapter" James Sr. says "Who wants read next"

"Me" Charlie says

James Sr. hands book to him


	11. Halloween

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.'s types in Bold font**

**thanks to geolke and taeniaea for Reviews**

Chapter Eleven: Halloween

"**Halloween**" Charlie reads

"I like Hogwarts Halloween Feasts" Sirius says

"Me too" Ron says

"I think Ron is Harry's Padfoot, it remains Moony and Wormtail" James Sr. says

Harry's eyes darkens by mentioning that traitor rat, Ginny notices and squeezes his hand

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day,**

"HA, I can image this git's face" Sirius says

**looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the**

**three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure,**

"Do not dare do it again" Lily Sr. says angrily

Molly and Hermione glare at Ron and shake their heads

"Like true Marauders" James Sr. and Sirius say and grin at them

"Like father, like son" Lily Sr. huffs

**and they were quite keen to have another one.**

"You are really a Marauder's heir, Harry" Sirius says proudly

"He is my son after all" James Sr. says

Lily Sr. huffs and glares dangerously at her son

**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. "It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"Or both" James Sr. says

**"Or both," said Harry.**

James Sr. grins at his son who grins back

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.**

Remus gasps

"What's wrong Moony?" James Sr. says

"Nothing" Remus lies. He finds out it but he do not want to says it "Continue Charlie"

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.**

"Good boy" Lily Sr. says and Molly nods in agreement

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all**

"Harry!" Lily Sr. says

"I hate call me know-it-all" Hermione says sadly

"Sorry mione" Harry says

"It is alright" Hermione says

**that they saw this as an added bonus.**

Hermione huffs

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.**

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls.**

"It likes a broomstick" James Sr. says

**Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor.**

"Yes" James Sr. says "it is yours"

**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.**

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:**

**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. **

**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.**

**Professor McGonagall**

"Wow, Minnie buy a Nimbus for you" Sirius says

"I paid it from his vault and Do not call me that Mr. Black" Minerva says

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.**

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."**

**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

"Hey, leave my son alone you stupid git" James Sr. says

**"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face.**

"HA, someone is jealous" Sirius says

**"You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."**

"You wish"

**Ron couldn't resist it.**

**"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**

"You have much information about broomsticks and Quidditch" James Sr. says

"Yes" Ron says proudly

James Sr. and Sirius grins at him

**"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."**

"Hey, Weasleys are more worth than you Pure-blood git" Sirius says angrily

All Weasleys beam at him

"How could Cissy married to that idiot" Sirius says

"Cissy?" Lily Sr. says

"Narcissa, my cousin that married Lucius Malfoy two years ago" Sirius says

Harry knows her well; he does not hate her because she saved his life at Final battle

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**

"Thanks God" Molly says

**"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.**

**"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**

**"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry.**

**"Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"**

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.**

"Good one, pup" Sirius says

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. "Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team...."**

**"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.**

"Why?" Sirius says

"Because Harry broke rules and got award for it" Hermione says "Why did you do it, Minerva? You encouraged them for breaking rules"

"Harry became punished all the way to Filius's class, it is worst punishment to think you could expel soon." Minerva says

"Oh"

**"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.**

**"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**

Hermione hits her husband at arm

"Ouch? What was that for?" Ron Says

"For being prat" Hermione says

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day.**

"Harry! You should pay attention to your class" Lily Sr. says

"Sorry mum" Harry says

**It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.**

**"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.**

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold**

**near the top.**

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.**

"Good imagination" James Sr. says

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling -- he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.**

**"Hey, Potter, come down!'**

**Oliver Wood had arrived. fie was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.**

**"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant... you really are a natural.**

"Obviously" James Sr. says

**I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, **

"Ah, Quidditch" James Sr. says and Lily Sr. shakes her head

**then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.**

**"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play.**

"It is easy if you know it well" James Sr. says

**There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."**

"Like me" James Sr. says

"Me too" Ginny says

"Me too" Angelina says

**"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.**

"Quaffle" James Sr. says

"We know it Prongs, Thanks" Sirius says

**"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"**

**"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So -- that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**

"What is Basketball?" James Sr. says

"Sort of Muggle sport" Harry says

**"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. "Never mind," said Harry quickly.**

**"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper**

"Like me" Ron Says

**-I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**

**"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.**

"Bludgers and Golden Snitch" James Sr. says

**"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."**

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.**

"What is baseball?" Sirius says

"Sort of Muggle sport" Harry says

**"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers."**

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**

**"Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.**

**At once, the black ball raised high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose,**

"Good reaction, pup" Sirius says

**and sent it zigzagging away into the air -- it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.**

**See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each**

**Team**

"Like me" Sirius says

"Me too" George says

**-- the Weasley twins are ours -- it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So -- think you've got all that?"**

**"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.**

**"Very good," said Wood.**

**"Er -- have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.**

"Not at Hogwarts" James Sr. says

**"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. **

James Sr. smiles at his son proudly

**And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers unless they crack my head open."**

**"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers – I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

Everyone laugh

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**

"Golden Snitch" James Sr. says

**"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win.**

"So, other position is not important" Lily Sr. says

"No, each position has its importance" Harry says and other Quidditch players beam at him

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages -- I think the record is three months,**

"Wow"

**they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. "Well, that's it – any questions?"**

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

"Don't worry son, you'll be brilliant" James Sr. says

"Thanks dad" Harry says

**"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."**

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.**

**Harry didn't miss a single one,**

"Wow" every one say and stare at Harry.

"Your are brilliant son, I am proud of you" James says happily

"Thanks dad" Harry says

"Do you think I can do that, dad" Albus says

"I think so Albus, you are good flier" Harry says

"Thanks dad" Albus says happily

**and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**

**"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley**

"You are better than me Harry" Charlie says

"Thanks Charlie" Harry says

**and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

"Really?" Sirius says

"Yes, many clubs afforded me even national coach invited me to tryouts but I loved dragons" Charlie says

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two**

**months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had.**

"Hogwarts was my real home before I've seen Burrow" Harry says and Weasleys beam at him

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.**

"Equal, maybe me" Ron says

Hermione huffs

**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

"I had terrible time. I hoped I can make friends soon. But when this two did not speak to me, my life in castle became horrible." Hermione says

"There were many children in castle, why did not you make friend with them?" Lily Sr. says

"Because this two were first ones that I saw and they seemed wiser than others." Hermione says

**"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too -- never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it –**

Everyone laugh

"But it is a simple charm" Lily Sr. says disbelievingly

**Harry had to put it out with his hat.**

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

**"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

"That does not work" Lily Sr. says

**"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

"Everyone does not like being correct Hermione" James Sr. says

"But I wanted helped him" Hermione says

**"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.**

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

"Well done" Lily Sr. says

"Thanks Mrs. Potter" Hermione says

"Call me Lily, Mrs. Potter was my mother-in-law. Besides Ginny is Mrs. Potter too" Lily Sr. says

**"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**

"So you did not inherited my Charms skill "Lily Sr. says

"Sorry mum" Harry says

"It's alright, everyone has a best subject"

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

Rose and Hugo look at their father disbelievingly; they know how their parents care for each other

"Ronald Weasley, it is not nice to say such things" Molly says

"Sorry Mione" Ron says

"I wonder how did you marry?" Ginny says

"You two remind me a certain couple" Sirius says and looks at his friends

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione.**

"Did you hear it?" Lily Sr. says

Hermione nods sadly and Ron looks at floor

"Oh My dear" Lily Sr. says

**Harry caught a glimpse of her face -- and was startled to see that she was in tears.**

"I'm so sorry Hermione" Ron says

"You should be Ronald" Molly says

"It is alright Molly" Hermione says and elder woman smiles at her

**"I think she heard you."**

**"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."**

Molly and Hermione shake their head

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone.**

"It was one of worst times in my life" Hermione says sadly

**Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**

Hermione huffs

"Boys" Molly and Lily Sr. says unison

"What? But it was Halloween Feast" Ron says

Hermione chuckles (Ron and his Stomach)

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped**

**against the table, and gasped, "Troll -- in the dungeons -- thought you ought to know."**

"WHAT" everyone shout

"How on earth this stupid troll was there?" Sirius says

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**

"Great! He suppose to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher" James Sr. says

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

**"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**

**Percy was in his element.**

**"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

Everyone chuckle at that and Percy blushes

**"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

**"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

**"I've just thought -- Hermione."**

"Oh no, you did not know it" Lily Sr. says

"No" Hermione says

**"What about her?"**

**"She doesn't know about the troll."**

**Ron bit his lip.**

**"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."**

"You went after troll" Lily Sr. says angrily

"Hermione did not know it, we had to do it" Harry says

"I think it is alright" Lily Sr. says

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

"Oh no"

**"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape.**

"WHAT" Everyone say

"That greasy git suppose to be in dungeons" Sirius says "What did he do there?"

**He crossed the "What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

**"Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

**"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said,**

"WHAT" Everyone say

"That greasy git released that bloody troll to steal that thing below that trapdoor" Sirius says

"He is teacher, Sirius. Why he should do it" Lily defended his ex-friend "also we did not what it is"

Sirius says nothing

**but Ron held up his hand.**

**"Can you smell something?"**

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**

"Ew"

**And then they heard it -- a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed -- at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

**"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."**

**"Good idea," said Ron nervously.**

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

**'Yes!"**

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop -- a high, petrified scream**

"You two idiots locked the bathroom that I was in" Hermione says

Rose and Hugo look pale, their mom locked in a room with a troll

"Sorry" Harry and Ron say unison

**-- and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

"Oh no"

**"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

**"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

**"Hermione!" they said together.**

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.**

**"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron,**

"Not bad suggestion, pup" Sirius says

**and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**

"Oh no" Lily Sr. says anxiously

Potter children look anxiously to their father

**"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning**

**its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

**"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move,**

"Come on Hermione" Sirius says

**she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.**

"Harry! How dare you do it? It is dangerous" Lily Sr. says

"Do not worry Lils. He is my son, he'll be okay" James Sr. says

**The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its**

**nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

"Ew"

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**

Lily Sr. looks at her son anxiously, also she knows he'll be ok but her motherly feeling makes her anxious.

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand -- not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

"Does it Work?" Sirius says

"You'll see" Ron says

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over -- and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head.**

"Well Done, mate" Sirius says

"Thanks" Ron says

**The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.**

"YES" everyone say

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.**

"I did not believe I've done it" Ron says

"You are amazing when you believe yourself" Hermione says

"Thanks Love" Ron says

**It was Hermione who spoke first.**

**"Is it -- dead?"**

**I don't think so," said Harry, I think it's just been knocked out."**

**He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.**

**"Urgh -- troll boogers."**

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers.**

"Ew"

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly**

**down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**

"Such a brave person" Sirius huffs

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry.**

"I was shocked and angry to see you two there" Minerva says "you reminded me Black and Potter"

Sirius and James Sr. grin at Harry and Ron proudly

**. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

"Fifty? Fat chance. You should be lucky if she does not give you detention or takes point" Sirius says

**"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air.**

"I was shocked" Ron says

**"You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"**

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look.**

"Greasy git"

**Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.**

"Sorry" Ron says

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

**"Please, Professor McGonagall -- they were looking for me."**

**"Miss Granger!"**

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.**

**I went looking for the troll because I -- I thought I could deal with it on my own -- you know, because I've read all about them."**

**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?**

"Wow, you lied to a teacher" Sirius says

"Sorry Minerva" Hermione says sheepishly

"It is alright" Minerva says

**"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."**

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.**

"You acted well, I did not suspect" Minerva says

Two Animagi Marauders grin at that two proudly

**"Well -- in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble.**

"Wow"

"Thanks Mione" two best friends say unison

"Thanks too" Hermione says and beam at them

**It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

Everyone chuckle by this imagination

**"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing**

**the feast in their houses."**

**Hermione left.**

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**

**"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."**

"Wow" Sirius says "You did not punish"

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

**"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

**"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**

**"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**

**"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

**"Pig snout," they said and entered.**

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

"You three became friends" Sirius says

"Best Friends" Trio say unison

"You have no idea" Ginny says "They are Golden Trio"

"Golden Trio?" Trio say

"Yes" Ginny says

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. **

"It's good" Lily Sr. says and beams at Trio

**There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

"This is end of Chapter" Charlie says "who wants read next"

"I think it is late" Harry says "we can continue tomorrow"

Everyone nod in agreement

"Ok, every one should wake by eight" Harry says

"It is early" Sirius says

"No, we have seven books to read" Harry says

"I should back to Hogwarts" Minerva says "When will you start?"

"At nine" Harry says

"Ok, I'll be here by that time" Minerva says "Night Harry"

"Night Minerva" Harry says

Minerva McGonagall reaches Reception room and Floes to Hogwarts.

Everyone walks toward East wing and reaches after a while

"We prepared rooms for each family" Harry says "children can share room if they want"

Everyone leave basement

"Mum, Dad, Padfoot and Moony. Wait" Harry says

They look at Harry curiously

"Mum, Dad" Harry says "your room is ready and clean"

Both beam at their son

"Night Son" James Sr. says

"Night Dear" Lily Sr. says and hugs his son and his family

"Night Dad" Harry says "Night Mum"

James Sr. and Lily Sr. ascend toward their room

"Sirius, Remus" Harry says "your room is clean and ready too"

"Thanks Harry" Sirius and Remus say unison

"Night Harry" Sirius says

"Night Harry" Remus says

"Night Padfoot" Harry says "Night Moony"

Sirius and Remus ascend toward their room

Potters ascend toward their rooms

At fifth floor Potter children hugs their parents and walk toward their room,

Harry and Ginny reach their room, Master bedroom, at sixth floor and enter

They change into bedclothes quickly and lie down their King-size bed

Harry wraps his arm around Ginny and pushes her to himself. Ginny puts her head on his chest. Harry kisses his wife passionately.

"Night Honey" Ginny says

"Night Sweetie" Harry says


	12. Quidditch

**Sorry for waiting this long, I have a serious business problem**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.K.R's types in bold font**

Chapter Twelve: Quidditch

**Beta read by ginervaweasleyrocks**

Next morning everyone woke up at eight and reached the dining room in the North wing of Potter Manor. They enjoyed eating the delicious breakfast that the house-elves had prepared for them.

After breakfast was over, everyone walked towards the living room. Soon, they arrived and sat in their previous spots.

At quarter to nine, Minerva McGonagall arrived.

"I think we should start soon, since we have six and a half books to read." Harry said "Who wants to read next?"

"I'll read." Ron said.

Harry passed the book to him.

"I think this chapter will be interesting" Ron said smiling.

"Why?"

"You can find that out by the chapter title." Ron said.

"**Quidditch**" Ron read.

"Yes!" James and Sirius said both very happy.

"This my first Quidditch match" Harry said.

"I am sure you're brilliant, son" James Sr. said.

"Ron, Please read" Hermione said impatiently.

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountain surround the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the**

**Upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver skin boots.**

**The Quidditch season had begun.**

"Yes!"

**On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.**

"Gryffindor will win defiantly." James Sr. said.

**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.**

"That is good," Sirius said nodding.

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn't know**

**which was worse -- people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.**

"Of course the first one, my son is brilliant flier," James Sr. said proudly.

"Thanks dad," Harry said smiling.

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend.**

"Thanks Mione, I don't know what I did if I hadn't you all this years," Harry said

Hermione beamed at her best friend and said "Thanks Harry."

Lily Sr. smiled; she knew this two had a sibling feeling for each other.

**He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her,**

"It was nice of you, Hermione," Lily Sr. said.

Hermione smiled.

**what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do.**

**She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.**

"It is," James Sr. said.

**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them;**

"Be careful, Harry," Lily Sr. said her motherly instincts acting up.

**that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

"Poor refs."

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.**

"Really?" Sirius said.

"Yep," Hermione said.

"Wow!"

**The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.**

Everyone stared at Hermione.

"It is an advanced charm," Lily Sr. said.

"That's my Hermione," Ron said proudly.

Hermione blushed.

"I think, she is your Moony, son," James Sr. said.

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm,**

"Why?"

"It is illegal to do magic outside the class," Minerva said.

**when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping.**

"Why?"

"He went to the third corridor on Halloween night, maybe that dog hurt him," Sirius said.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.**

"Why did conjure that fire if you knew that," Lily Sr. said.

"We wanted to be out of the castle and it was cold," Harry said and Lily nodded.

**. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye.**

"Oh no, you'll be in trouble," Lily Sr. said anxiously.

**He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire,**

"Thank God."

**but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**

"Greasy git."

**"What's that you've got there, Potter?"**

**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.**

**"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

"Greasy git," Sirius said..

"Sirius!" Lily Sr. said angrily.

"But it is not illegal, he loved to bullies Gryffindors especially Harry," Sirius said.

**"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"**

**"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

"Me too," Sirius said.

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"),**

"You think like Lily," James Sr. said

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Lily Sr. said with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," James mumbled.

**but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.**

**Harry felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape? Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

**"Better you than me," they said together, but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**

"Good idea."

**He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.**

**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try.**

"Harry!" Lily Sr. said.

"A true Marauder," James Sr. said and grinned at his son.

"Like father, like son," Lily Sr. said and shook her head.

**He pushed the door ajar and peered inside -- and a horrible scene met his eyes.**

"What?"

"You'll see," Harry said.

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

"Why?"

"As I said he attempted to pass that dog," Sirius said.

"Why would he do that?" Lily Sr. asked.

"Maybe he is after that package," Sirius said.

"No way!" Lily Sr. exclaimed "He is a teacher."

"You think that all the teachers are saints." Sirius said.

"Of course not, I thought he must be a fool to steel that package under Dumbledore's nose," Lily Sr. said.

"Whatever," Sirius said shrugging his shoulders.

**"Blasted thing*," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

"See, I was right," Sirius said.

"But it is no reason for believing that Severus wanted that package," Lily sr. said.

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but --**

**"POTTER!"**

**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**

**"I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

**"GET OUT! OUT!"**

**Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs.**

**"Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"**

"How did know?" Sirius said

"Harry had a shocked expression on his face and I thought something must have happened," Ron said.

**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.**

**"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him -- he's after whatever it's guarding! **

"See, Harry thought the same," Sirius said smugly.

**And Id bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"Thanks God I didn't bet on that," Harry said in low voice so that no one noticed.

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

**"No -- he wouldn't, she said."I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**

"See, Hermione thought the same and I am sure it is not Severus," Lily said.

"Whatever."

**"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron.**

"You are definitely Harry's Padfoot, Ron," James Sr. said.

**"I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

"I think I know it," Lily Sr. said.

Everyone stared at her.

"What is it?" Sirius said.

"I can't tell," Lily Sr. said.

"Come on Lily," James Sr. said.

"I am not sure about it," Lily Sr. said "I can't tell until I'll be sure."

"Ok."

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind -- he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours**

"You should get enough sleep son," James Sr. said.

**but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

"You are right."

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheer full chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

**"You've got to eat some breakfast."**

**"I don't want anything."**

"You should son, as a Seeker you should have enough energy," James Sr. said.

**"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**

**"I'm not hungry."**

**Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field.**

"Relax Harry, you'll be great!" James Sr. said.

**"Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

"He is right."

**"Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**

Hermione huffed.

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said Potter for President,**

"Good."

**And Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors.**

"Wow."

"That was impressive**."**

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

**"Okay, men," he said.**

**"And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

"Oliver always thought that way." Angelina said.

**"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."**

**"The big one," said Fred Weasley.**

**"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.**

"**We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."**

Everybody laughed.

**"Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor had in years. We're going to win. I know it."**

James Sr. wanted to protest but he did not _I should wait for the match_ he thought.

**We're going to win. I know it."**

"Definitely."

**He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else." "Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**

**Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

"Relax Son," James Sr. said.

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

**"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said,**

"Slytherins, I don't think so," Sirius said.

**once they were all gathered around her. Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**

Everybody laughed at this.

**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**

"It is good," James Sr. said.

"Thanks Hermione," Harry said and Hermione smiled.

**"Mount your brooms, please."**

**Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.**

**Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too --"**

Everyone laughed and Angelina blushed.

"I loved Lee's commentary," George said laughing.

**"JORDAN!"**

**"Sorry, Professor."**

**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**

**"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve -- back to Johnson and -- no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes -- Flint flying like an eagle up there -- he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle –**

"Good."

"Oliver is a superb keeper," Harry said.

**that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and -- OUCH -- that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger -- Quaffle taken by the Slytherins -- that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by asecond Bludger -- sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which –**

"Not after seventh year," Harry muttered in his breath

**nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes -- she's really flying -- dodges a speeding Bludger -- the goal posts are ahead**

**come on, now, Angelina -- Keeper Bletchley dives -- misses -- GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

"YES!" James Sr. and Sirius exclaimed.

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**

**"Budge up there, move along."**

**"Hagrid!"**

**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.**

**"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

**"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

"It was my first match and Oliver told me not to move until a glance of the Snitch," Harry said.

**"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry.**

**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**

**"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**

"It is a good tactic," James Sr. said approvingly.

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings.**

"Harry, you should concentrate on Snitch," James Sr. said.

"Sorry dad," Harry said**.**

**Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it**

"Good reflex!" Sirius said

"Thanks Padfoot," Harry said.

**and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.**

**"All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.**

**"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the -- wait a moment -- was that the Snitch?"**

"Hurry Harry!" James Sr. urged.

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle,**

"Idiot, you should pay attention only to your job," James said.

"But it was good, he is a Slytherin," Sirius said.

"I know, but it is important for playing well." James Sr. said.

**too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch -all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.**

"Well, it is an exciting moment," James Sr. said.

**Harry was faster than Higgs -- he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead - - he put on an extra spurt of speed –**

"Go on pup!" Sirius said.

**WHAM!**

"Oh no! What happened?" Lily Sr. asked.

"You'll see" Harry said.

**A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below -- Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose,**

"Foul" Sirius shouted.

"Leave my son alone you filthy snake," James Sr. said angrily.

**and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

**"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.**

"Damn."

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

"What does it mean," Sirius said.

"In soccer when a player commits a bad foul the ref shows a red card and sends him back to the pitch.," Hugo said.

"But is not soccer," Sirius said.

"Dean is a muggleborn," Harry said.

**"Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"**

**"But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him.**

**Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.**

**"They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.**

"He is a Gryffindor after all." James Sr. said.

**"So -- after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating**

**"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**

**"I mean, after that open and revolting foul**

"I like this guy," James Sr. said.

"Lee is cool," George said.

**'Jordan, I'm warning you --"**

**"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor**

**still in possession."**

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch.**

"No!" Lily Sr. and Ginny said in unison.

**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.**

**It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal- posts**

**he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out -- and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control.**

"Someone jinxed the broom," James Sr. said.

Everyone in the room looked worried.

**He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

"Harry, hold the broom firmly!" Lily Sr. said anxiously.

**Lee was still commentating. **

**"Slytherin in possession -- Flint with the Quaffle -- passes Spinnet -- passes Bell -- hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose -- only joking, Professor -- Slytherins score -- A no...**

"Damn."

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying- him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**

**"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... but he can't have...."**

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild**

**jerk and Harry swung off it. **

"No!"

**He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**

**"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

**"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic -- no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"She thinks maybe it is a teacher who did it," James Sr. said

"I bet it is that greasy git," Sirius said

"Why did Severus do this?" Lily Sr. asked worriedly.

"Because he hates pup," Sirius said.

"But even if he wanted to kill Harry he wouldn't do it in front of everyone!" Lily said.

"Whatever."

**"What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.**

**"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape -- look."**

"See."

Lily Sr. became speechless. _Why on the earth did her ex-friend wanted to kill her son? She didn't believe this._

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.**

"SEVERUS SNAPE, LEAVE MY SON ALONE OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Lily Sr. yelled

**"He's doing something -- jinxing the broom," said Hermione.**

**"What should we do?"**

**"Leave it to me."**

**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms,**

"Good."

**but it was no good -- every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower**

**and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.**

**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

"BLOODY BASTARD THAT SNAKE!" James Sr. yelled.

**"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**

Remus became thoughtful when the DADA teacher was mentioned. _For some reason Snape is not the one who has jinxed the broom._

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well- chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.**

"It is Brilliant." James Sr. said.

"GO on Hermione!" Sirius said.

**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job.**

"YES!"

**Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row -- Snape would never know what had happened.**

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**

"Thanks Goodness," Lily Sr. said in relief.

**"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**

"He was terrified, he feared that Harry would fall," Ron said

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick –**

"Oh no! What happened? Are you alright?" Lily Sr. said worriedly.

"You'll see" Harry said and grinned.

**he hit the field on all fours -- coughed -- and something gold fell into his hand.**

"YES" Sirius shouted.

"THAT WAS BIRLLIANT CATCH!" James Sr. said happily.

**"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

**"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference -- Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results --**

**Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.**

"YES, GO GO GRYFFINDOR!"

**Harry heard none of this, though. He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.**

**"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

"Greasy git."

"But it is the same for counter curse," Lily Sr. said and wished that her ex-friend was doing the counter-curse.

**"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.**

**"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get pastthat three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot.**

**"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**

"Fluffy? That monster has a name," Sirius said.

**"Fluffy?"**

**"Yeah -- he's mine –**

"Why I am not surprised," James Sr. said.

"Well it is usual for Hagrid to have monstrous pets," Ron said and thought about that monsterous spider.

**bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year -- I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the**

**"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**

**"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**

**"But Snape's trying to steal it."**

**"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**

**"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.**

**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.**

"Of course it did. It looked like he wanted to kill my best friend," Hermione said "How else would I think?"

**I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"**

"See, even Hermione thinks the same," Sirius said.

"But…" Lily said.

"I bet two Galleons he did it," Sirius said.

"Deal," Lily Sr. said.

**"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh -- yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel --"**

"This name is familiar to me," Lily Sr. said.

**"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"**

**Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"It is the end of the chapter," Ron said, "Who wants read next?"

"Me," Ginny said.

"Here little Sis," Ron said and handed the book to her.

**Thanks to ginervaweasleyrocks For Beta reading**

**Thanks to ****MrsNatalieBelikov, Xx Dark-Light Angel Xx, ginervaweasleyrocks, twilightgirl1590, charlee13, Karse, Luiz4200, and Niki Shields for Reviews**


	13. The Mirror of Erised

**Sorry for waiting this long**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.K.R's types in bold font**

Chapter Thirteen: The Mirror of Erised

**Beta read by ginervaweasleyrocks**

"**The Mirror of Erised**" Ginny read.

"What does it mean?" Sirius asked confused.

"If you wait you can find your answer soon," Lily Sr. said impatiently, "Please start, Ginny dear".

**Christmas was coming.**

"That's good! I love Christmas!" James Jr. exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, only for presents and foods," Lily Jr. said.

"I don't have anything to do!" James Jr. defended.

"Whatever."

**One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.**

"You are brilliant!" Sirius said laughing.

"Thanks," George said and bowed.

**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.**

**No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms.**

**Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.**

**"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**

"Git," Sirius said.

"Like I'd return to Dursleys. Hogwarts is the best in Christmas," Harry said.

Lily Sr. bit her bottom lip, she wished she was alive and Harry had a real home to go in his holidays.

James Sr. sensed how how his wife was feeling and wrapped his arm around her.

**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.**

"Filthy snakes," Sirius said spitefully.

**Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match.**

"Of course, the snakes lost!" Sirius said.

**Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. **

"Jealous git" James Sr. said.

**Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny,**

"Ha!" Sirius said.

**because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick.**

"My son is the best," James Sr. said proudly.

"Thanks Dad," Harry said smiling.

**So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.**

"How dare you?! Potters have higher social position than Malfoys, everybody knows it!" James Sr. exclaimed angrily and everyone nodded in agreement.

**It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had.**

"Not best, but one of them," Harry said. _This year is the best,_ he thought and looked around at his family.

**Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit**

**Charlie.**

"How was Romania?" Sirius asked curiously.

"It was good, Charlie showed us his work place and dragons," Ginny said.

**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.**

**"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**

"That was nice of you, Ron," Molly smiled at Ron.

"Thanks Mom," Ron said.

**"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."**

**"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoys cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley?**

"Bloody git," Sirius cursed.

"Sirius Black, your language!" Lily Sr. admonished Sirius.

"But that snake insulted Ron!" Sirius exclaimed angrily.

Lily Sr. held her tongue. She liked the Weasleys and she knew they were poor.

**Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose -- that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."**

"How dare you!" James Sr. shouted angrily, "Weasleys are more worthy than you pure-blood gits."

All the Weasleys beamed at James.

**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.**

**"WEASLEY!"**

**Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.**

**"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."**

**"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley,**

"Greasy git," Sirius said.

**and be grateful itisn't more. Move along, all of you."**

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.**

"Bloody Snakes," Sirius said.

**"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him --"**

**"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**

_Not anymore,_ Harry thought.

**"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."**

**So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**

"The Great Hall is amazing on Christmas," Teddy commented and everyone who had stayed in Hogwarts for christmas nodded in agreement.

**"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree -- put it in the far corner, would you?"**

**The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.**

"That's lovely," Victoire said.

**"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.**

**"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me -Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**

"Library?! A day before Christmas?!" Sirius asked astonished.

"We wanted to research about Nicholas Flamel," Hermione explained.

"Oh".

**"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.**

**"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"**

"Ron and Harry, no way!" Hermione teased.

"Hey!" They both pouted in unison.

**"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."**

"I don't think Hagrid will like this," Sirius said.

**"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here -- I've told yeh – drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."**

"See."

"No one argued!" Lily exclaimed exasperated.

**"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.**

**"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere -- just give us a hint -- I know I've read his name somewhere."**

"In the chocolate frog card," Harry said.

**"I'm sayin' nothin, said Hagrid flatly.**

**"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left**

**Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.**

**They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal?**

"If he wants it in the first place," Lily Sr. said.

"I bet five Galleons that he is after that package," Sirius said.

"Deal," Lily Sr. said.

**The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.**

**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.**

**"What are you looking for, boy?"**

**"Nothing," said Harry.**

**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him. "You'd better get out, then. Go on -- out!"**

**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel.**

"She could help you if you asked her," Lily Sr. said.

**They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.**

"Humph," Lily Sr. huffed.

**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after A, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.**

**Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.**

**"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."**

"I doubt it," Lily Sr. said smirking, "Without any sensible person, they distracted easily."

**"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."**

"But aren't they muggles?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Hermione said.

"Then they aren't good help," Sirius said.

**"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.**

Everyone laughed.

**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. **

"See! I was right," Lily Sr. said smugly and Hermione shook her head.

**They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork -- bread, English muffins, marshmallows -- and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled,**

"We think the same about that greasy git," Sirius said.

"Sirius!" Lily said sharply.

"Sorry Lils," Sirius said sheepishly.

**which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.**

**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family –**

"Harry!" Lily said "it's not a very nice thing to say."

"Sorry" Harry said.

"It's alright mate," Ron said. "It's true."

**in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.**

**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him." On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.**

"Why? Presents are brilliant!" Sirius said.

"I didn't have a proper Christmas before, the Dursleys always ignored me," Harry said bitterly and Ginny wrapped her arm around him.

Lily and James exchanged a look and wished they could be there for him.

**When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.**

**"Merry Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.**

**"You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"**

**"What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.**

**Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid.**

"It was nice of him," Lily Sr. said. She was happy that someone cared for her son.

**Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it -- it sounded a bit like an owl.**

**A second, very small parcel contained a note. We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Taped to the note was a fifty-penny piece.**

Lily huffed.

**"That's friendly," said Harry.**

**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.**

**"Weird!" he said, 'What a shape! This is money?"**

**"You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. **

"Thanks mate," Ron said.

"Your welcome," Harry said.

**"Hagrid and my aunt and uncle -- so who sent these?"**

**"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and -- oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."**

"Thanks Molly," Lily said and hugged the elder woman who hugged her back.

"Harry was always like my own son," Molly said smiling.

Lily and James beamed at her.

**Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.**

**"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon."**

"But isn't maroon your favorite colour?" Molly said.

"It's mine, mom." Bill said.

**"That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.**

"Thanks Molly." Harry said.

"Your welcome dear," Molly said and smiled at her son-in-law.

**His next present also contained candy -- a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.**

"Thanks Hermione/Mione" Lily/Harry said and Hermione smiled.

"Why didn't you send me the same present?" Ron said, "You knew that I liked chocolate frog."

"Er…I didn't think about it" Hermione said hesitantly and Ron huffed.

**This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it. Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds.**

"The Invisibility cloak!" James Sr. said with a wide smile on his face, "You've got it."

"Yep," Harry said.

**Ron gasped.**

**"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is -- they're really rare, and really valuable."**

"Yes it is. It's a Potter family heirloom" James Sr. said proudly.

**"What is it?"**

**Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.**

**"It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is -- try it on."**

**Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.**

**"It is! Look down!"**

**Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.**

"Can we see it, Dad?" James Jr. said excitedly.

"Of course," Harry said "Accio Invisibility cloak."

After a minute it flew into the room and moved across the room and Harry grabbed it, stood and threw it around his shoulders and vanished. Harry walked a few steps and removed the cloak.

Everybody save people from past, Hermione, Ron and Ginny look at cloak in awe.

Harry returned to his spot and gave the cloak to his children. They examined it happily and returned it to their father.

"I don't use it anymore," Harry said, "In fact I don't need it. I can be invisible without it."

"If you mean Disillusionment Charms," Sirius said, "They are not reliable."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked smirking.

"Yes," Sirius said.

Harry vanished in a second and everyone stared at the spot he was in.

After a minute a lion entered the room and walked across the room and stood in front of Ginny.

"Don't move Ginny," Molly said worriedly.

"Relax mom, this lion is not wild," Ginny said and stroke the mane of the lion who closed its eyes in enjoyment,

"In fact it's my sweet lion."

Everyone save Minerva, Ron, Hermione and the Potter children stared at Ginny in disbelief who smiled.

The lion suddenly transformed into Harry who grinned from ear to ear.

After a minute James Sr. broke the silence by saying, "You are animagus, Harry."

"Yes Dad," Harry said smiling and James grinned proudly.

"When did you learn it?" George asked astounded.

"When I joined the Auror Department, I asked Minerva to teach me it." Harry said then turned to Sirius, "See. Nobody noticed my exit. Strength of the Disillusionment Charm depends on the strength of the Magical core of the caster. A powerful witch or wizard can cast a very powerful Disillusionment Charm and he or she doesn't need a invisibility cloak".

Everybody stared at Harry in awe.

James Sr. grinned proudly. His son was very powerful wizard, "That's my son."

"Thanks Dad," Harry said smiling, "Continue Gin."

**"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!" Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words: Your father left this in my possession before he died.**

"Who is it from and why did I give my cloak to him or her?" James Sr. asked suspiciously.

"I am afraid that I can't tell," Harry said and James Sr. nodded.

**It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.**

**A Very Merry Christmas to you.**

**There was no signature. Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.**

**"I'd give anything for one of these,"**

"It's priceless son." Arthur said.

"I know that now. At that time I didn't know it's was a family heirloom," Ron defended.

**he said. "Anything. What's the matter?"**

**"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father?**

"Yes, it's been in Potter family for generations," James Sr. said.

**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**

"It's alright, mate." George said, "I can understand."

"Thanks George," Harry said smiling.

**"Merry Christmas!"**

**"Hey, look -- Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"**

**Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.**

**"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."**

"George!" Molly shouted.

"Sorry mom," George said sheepishly.

"It is better because I asked mom to make it better than the others." Ginny said.

"Really?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yes Hon." Ginny said.

"Thanks Sweetie" Harry said and kissed her quickly.

"Eew." James Jr. and Albus said together while Lily Jr. rolled her eyes.

**"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."**

**"I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.**

"Sorry dear." Molly said.

"It's aright, mom." Ron said.

**"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid -- we know we're called Gred and Forge."**

Everybody laughed.

**"What's all the is noise.**

**Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.**

**"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."**

**"I -- don't -- want said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.**

Percy shot a glare at his brother but didn't say anything.

**"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."**

**They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.**

Everybody save Percy laughed.

**Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. **

"It was true at that point of time." Harry said.

**A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce -- and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.**

"Do you have to mention them?" Ron groaned.

**These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**

**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.**

Everybody looked in amazement at the elder witch who smiled. They never saw such a thing from their old strict teacher/headmistress.

**When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non explodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set.**

**The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.**

**Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath,**

"You should dry soon before you get a cold." Lily Sr. and Molly said motherly unison.

**They returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.**

Percy glared at Harry who smiled.

**After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because**

**they'd stolen his prefect badge.**

Everybody laughed and Percy glared at George.

**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it.**

**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it. His father's... this had been his father's.**

"That was a good and a bad feeling." Harry said, "I had something that belonged to you but I didn't know you so much."

James Sr. looked at his son sadly.

**He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said. He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.**

**Use it well.**

The marauders grinned.

"_Oh no, they grinned. It means Harry will be like his father and Godfather."_ Lily thought with resign.

**Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak.**

"A true Marauder," James Sr. said proudly.

"Like father, like son." Lily Sr. huffed.

**Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.**

Marauders grinned at Harry with pride in their eyes and Lily Sr. glared at him dangerously.

**Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back -- his father's cloak -- he felt that this time -- the first time – he wanted to use it alone.**

"Thanks mate." Ron said.

"Anytime. But if you were me, you would have acted the same." Harry said and Ron nodded.

**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.**

**"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.**

The Potter children looked at their father in awe; they didn't know their father was mischievous.

**Where should he go?**

"Kitchen." Sirius and Ron said unison.

The other two Marauders laughed but Lily Sr., Molly and Hermione shook their heads.

**He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library.**

"What?!" Marauders shouted "You can go everywhere and you chose the Library?!"

Harry didn't respond, Their answer was there in the next sentence.

**He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was.**

"At least you had a good reason for it, unlike someone." Lily Sr. said and glared at her husband.

**He set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked.**

**The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.**

**The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Step ping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.**

**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood.**

"It might be a Dark book." Lily Sr. cautioned, "Don't read it, Harry."

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**

"It's true. Many books in Restricted Section are charmed to prevent young students without permission to take them." Minerva McGonagall said.

**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interestinglooking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open**

**A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence -- the book was screaming!**

"Hurry pup! Get out of library!" Sirius urged impatiently.

**Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside -- stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor,**

"Good."

**the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.**

**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he**

**was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.**

**"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library Restricted Section."**

**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut,**

"Filch knows many shortcuts." Sirius said.

**because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied,**

"Great! That Greasy git," Sirius said.

"Sirius!" Lily Sr. said sharply.

**"The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."**

**Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him -- the cloak**

**didn't stop him from being solid.**

"You're right." Sirius said.

**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left.**

"Good," James Sr. said approvingly, "You found an abandoned classroom. No one has entered it for years. It is good for planning pranks and snogging."

"James!" Lily Sr. said sharply.

"Come on Lils! Many students knew it, it is not a secret classroom," James Sr. said.

Lily Sr. huffed.

**It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.**

**It looked like an unused classroom.**

"Definitely an abandoned classroom," James Sr. said.

**The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper**

**basket -- but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.**

"What was it, dad?" Lily Jr. asked.

"You'll find in next sentence, Flower," Harry said smiling at his daughter.

**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.**

"What does it mean?" Sirius said.

"I don't know. It is not like runes." Remus said confused.

"I show not your face but your heart desire." Lily Sr. after a minute.

Everyone save The Trio stared at Lily.

"How did you know that?" Sirius asked curiously.

"It's a mirror and mirrors show everything opposite." Lily Sr. said "You should read from the right."

"That's my brilliant Lily Flower." James Sr. said proudly.

**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. He stepped in front of it.**

**He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming.**

"What happened?" Lily Sr. asked worriedly.

"You'll see in a minute mom" Harry said and Lily Sr. nodded.

**He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed -- for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.**

"Who are they?" Rose asked.

"You'll see Rosie," Harry said.

**But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.**

**There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder -- but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?**

"Nope," Harry said.

**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air -- she and the others existed only in the mirror.**

"It's not your imagination. It's your desire Harry," Lily Sr. explained.

**She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes – her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green -- exactly the same shape,**

"It's me?" Lily Sr. said with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, mom" Harry said sadly and Ginny hugged him tightly.

**but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.**

"It's me son," James Sr. said sadly.

"Yes dad," Harry said.

**Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.**

**"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"**

"It was first time that I saw you," Harry said sadly.

"Oh Harry" Lily Sr. said and rushed to her son and hugged him.

James Sr. joined them and hugged his wife and son.

Everyone looked at them sadly. All the women's eyes were filled with tears.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other and thought the same thing '_Where on the earth were they all these years? They promised their friends that they would take care of Harry if something happened to James and Lily. But it seemed they had failed in their promise._

After a while the Potters released each other and sat back down on their spots.

**They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees –**

"Grandpa Edward," James Sr. said and Harry nodded.

**Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.**

Everyone looked sadly.

**The Potters smiled**

"They aren't just Potters. They must be Lily's family, Evans too" Remus said and Lily nodded.

**and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**

"That was a strange thing. I saw my family and wanted to join them but I couldn't." Harry said.

**How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back,"**

"Harry, don't do it," Lily Sr. said suddenly.

"Why?" James Sr. asked.

"I don't feel right about it, it's a strange mirror." Lily Sr. said apprehensively.

**and hurried from the room.**

**"You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly.**

**"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror.**

**"I'd like to see your mom and dad," Ron said eagerly.**

**"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to**

**show me your other brothers and everyone."**

"Just come to the Burrow," Bill said.

**"You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people.**

"Not really," Harry said.

**Shame about not finding Flamel, though. **

"Humph." Hermione huffed.

**Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"**

**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore.**

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed sharply.

"Sorry" Harry said, "But seeing my family was important for me in that point of time, I didn't see my parents after that _bloody_ Halloween and it was first time in 10 years that I could see them. I didn't even have a picture of them. If you were me…" His voice cracked and a tear ran over his cheek.

Immediately the room's atmosphere became sad. Ginny hugged her husband tightly and made circles on his back to comfort him.

"Oh Harry, I am so sorry," Hermione said with guilt in her eyes.

"It's alright Mione" Harry said smiling sadly.

**Who cared what the three headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?**

"Harry!" James Sr. and Sirius said sharply.

"Sorry," Harry said.

**"Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."**

**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Ron covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much more slowly the next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the**

**library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**

**"I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."**

**"No!" Harry hissed. I know it's here somewhere."**

**They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction,**

**but saw no one else. just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold,**

"It was very cold." Ron said, "And we just guessed the way."

**Harry spotted the suit of armor.**

**"It's here -- just here -- yes!"**

**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.**

**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.**

**"See?" Harry whispered.**

**"I can't see anything."**

**"Look! Look at them all... there are loads of them...."**

**"I can only see you."**

**"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."**

**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.**

**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.**

**"Look at me!" he said.**

**"Can you see all your family standing around you?"**

**"No -- I'm alone -- but I'm different -- I look older -- and I'm head boy!"**

"See, you can only see your heart desires." Lily Sr. said.

**"What?"**

**"I am -- I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to -- and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup -- I'm Quidditch captain, too.**

"So your desire was to be Head Boy and Quidditch captain." Hermione said looking at him weirdly.

"Yes, I had five brothers who was successful and I felt that I was in their shadow," Ron said.

**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.**

**"Do you think this mirror shows the future?"**

**"How can it? All my family are dead -- let me have another look --"**

**"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."**

**"You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."**

**"Don't push me --"**

"Boys, fighting doesn't solve anything and this stupid mirror is not worth for fighting." Hermione said and they nodded.

**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.**

**"Quick!"**

**Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing -- did the cloak work on cats?**

"Yes, it does. But she can smell you," James Sr. said.

**After what seemed an age, she turned and left.**

**"This isn't safe -- she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."**

**And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.**

**The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.**

**"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.**

**"No."**

**"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"**

**"No... you go..."**

**"I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."**

**"Why not?"**

**"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it –**

"See, even Ron can sense it. It's bad, don't do it again." Hermione said and Harry shrugged.

**and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**

"Listen to him, Harry," Lily Sr. said desperately.

"Sorry mom," Harry said.

"Like father, like son." Lily Sr. said and glared at her husband and son.

**"You sound like Hermione."**

"And what does suppose it mean?" Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, I was obsessed and wanted to see my family."

**"I'm serious,**

"No, I am Sirius." Sirius said to lighten the mood.

**Harry, don't go."**

**But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.**

**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone. And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily.**

**Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all**

**night with his family. Nothing at all.**

**Except --**

**"So -- back again, Harry?"**

"Oh no, who is it?" Lily Sr. said worriedly. She didn't want her son to be in trouble.

"Relax mom, it's alright," Harry said chuckling.

**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore.**

"Thanks God, it is Headmaster." Lily Sr. said in relief.

**Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.**

**" -- I didn't see you, sir."**

**"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore,**

"That was a good advice especially for troublemaking," James Sr. said and Lily Sr. glared at him.

**and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.**

"Albus always was kind to me." Harry said.

**"So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."**

**"I didn't know it was called that, Sir."**

**"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"**

**"It -- well -- it shows me my family --"**

**"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."**

"So Dumbledore always watched you," Lily Sr. said.

"Yah, from first day I went to Hogwarts," Harry said.

**"How did you know --?"**

**"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently.**

"See, this is proof of what I said. Someone powerful like Albus didn't need a invisibility cloak," Harry said.

**"Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"**

**Harry shook his head.**

**"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"**

"So no one can see it as a normal mirror." Lily Sr. said.

**Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want... whatever we want..."**

**"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them.**

"He is not anymore," Hermione said and squeezed her husband's hand who smiled at her.

**However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by**

**what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.**

**"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow,**

"_Exactly below the trapdoor." _Harry thought.

**Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again.**

"Listen to Headmaster, Harry," Lily Sr. said. She knew how her son felt but she didn't want him to waste his time in front of the mirror.

**If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live,**

**remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"**

**Harry stood up.**

**"Sir -- Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?" **

**"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."**

**"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

"Harry!" Lily said sharply, "It's a very personal question."

"Sorry mom, I was just curious." Harry defended.

**"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**

Everyone save The Trio and Minerva stared at book and then laughed. The Trio looked at the book darkly, they knew their former Headmaster saw his family in the mirror.

**Harry stared.**

**"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."**

**It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question.**

"It was," Lily Sr. said crossely.

"And it had reason," Harry muttered sadly in his breath,

"This is end of chapter," Ginny said, "Who wants to read next?"

"Me," Hermione said eagerly.

Ginny handed it to her.

**I know that Harry is not an animagus. But I sense that if he has a form, it's lion because of he is Gryffindor and lion is symbol of Gryffindor**

**Thanks to ginervaweasleyrocks For Beta reading**

**Thanks to hannibal221, RedChakra9, K.-writter12, Lovinging-er, HoratioCraver101, DominiqueWeasley and Taeinia for Reviews**


	14. Nicholas Flamel

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and any characters of this story**

**J.K.R's types in bold font**

Chapter Thirteen: Nicholas Flamel

**Beta read by ginervaweasleyrocks**

"**Nicholas Flamel**" Hermione read

"Finally, we can know who he is." Sirius said relieved.

**Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk.**

"Good boy!" Lily Sr. said and beamed at her son.

**Harry wished he could forget what he'd seen in the mirror as easily, but he couldn't. He started having nightmares.**

Ginny hugged Harry tightly

"I am so sorry Harry," Lily Sr. said sadly.

"It's alright mom," Harry said.

**Over and over again he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter.**

Everyone shuddered at the mention of the last part.

**"You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry told him about these dreams.**

**Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!"),**

"What's cloak for then?" Harry asked with mock curiosity.

"But if you bumped him, it won't help you" Hermione said frowning.

**and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was.**

**They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere.**

"As I said before, in the chocolate frog card," Harry said smugly.

**Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started again.**

"YES!" James Sr. and Sirius exclaimed happily

**Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Harry was on Wood's**

**side. If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years.**

"That's good," Lily Sr. said.

**Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry found that he had fewer nightmares when he was tired out after training.**

"Good." Lily Sr. said relieved.

**Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news.**

"What is the news?" James Sr. said worriedly "The match is canceled?"

"Not that bad, but it was shocking news," Harry said.

**He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off**

**their brooms.**

**"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, **

"WHAT?!" James Sr. and Sirius yelled unbelievingly.

"That Greasy git is a referee; he'll be unfair to Gryffindor!" Sirius said angrily.

**and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"**

**George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words.**

**"Snape's refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."**

**The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.**

**"It's not my fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."**

"It's impossible" James Sr. said.

**Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch....**

**The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at,**

"Wow, I didn't think you can lose in anything," Sirius said astounded.

"Ron is very good in chess," Hermione said and smiled at her husband.

**something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.**

Hermione glared at them.

"What?!" Harry said, "You expect to be good in everything. It was good for you that you aren't the best in everything."

"I never said that I am the best in everything." Hermione defended.

**"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen --" He caught sight of Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."**

**Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.**

**"Don't play," said Hermione at once.**

**"Say you're ill," said Ron.**

**"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.**

**"Really break your leg," said Ron.**

"It isn't going to work, Madam Pomfery will fix it in a minute." Sirius said.

**"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."**

**At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the**

**Leg-Locker Curse.**

"Poor boy," Lily Sr. said.

**He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower.**

"Who did that?" Remus asked.

"I bet Slytherins did it especially Malfoy," Sirius said angrily.

**Everyone fell over laughing**

"That isn't something to laugh about." Lily Sr. said sharply.

**except Hermione,**

"That was nice of you, at least someone has manners." Lily Sr. said approvingly.

**who leapt up and performed the counter-curse.**

"Good."

**Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling. "What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.**

**"Malfoy,"**

"See, that blond git," Sirius said.

**said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."**

"Filthy snake," James Sr. said angrily and Lily Sr. raised an eyebrow. It was something that the Marauders used to do to the Slytherins especially to Severus.

**"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"**

**Neville shook his head.**

**"I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.**

"You should report to me," Minerva said.

"It was his decision, Minerva," Hermione said.

**"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."**

**"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor,**

"That wasn't what I meant," Ron said.

**Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.**

"That bloody snake," Sirius said.

**Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.**

"It was nice of you, Harry." Lily Sr. said smiling. "At least you have some manners, unlike some others here."

She glared at James Sr. and Sirius.

"Hey, we have manners when we want," James Sr. and Sirius said in unison.

**"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said.**

"Good one, pup!" Sirius said.

**"The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."**

"Go on Harry!" James Sr. said.

**Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.**

"Good."

**"Thanks, Harry... I think I'll go to bed.... D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"**

**As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.**

**"Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever-" He gasped.**

"What happened?" Lily Sr. asked worriedly.

"You'll see," Harry said smirking.

**He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione.**

**"I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel!**

"I told you, I read it in the card," Harry said.

"Good."

**I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here – listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"**

**Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.**

"Prat," Hermione said and Harry smirked at her.

**"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry and Ron barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.**

**"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."**

"Light?!" Sirius said unbelievingly, "You just said an enormous book is light."

**"Light?" said Ron,**

"Ron is definitely like Padfoot," James said chuckling.

**but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.**

**At last she found what she was looking for.**

**"I knew it! I knew it!"**

**"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him.**

**"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"**

"I knew it!" Lily Sr. exclaimed excitedly.

Everyone stared at her.

"Come on, it is the book title!" Lily Sr. said exasperated. "It must be important."

"But what is the Sorcerer's Stone?" George asked.

"I think Hermione will explain it in the book," Lily Sr. said.

**This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.**

**"The what?" said Harry and Ron.**

**"Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look -- read that, there."**

**She pushed the book toward them, and Harry and Ron read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold.**

"Cool."

**It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.**

"I wish that I had one," Sirius said wistfully.

"Everyone wants it, Padfoot," Remus said said rolling his eyes, "But there is only of its kind and it belongs to Flamel."

"But I don't want to live a long life. It's dreadful watching your beloved ones dying," Lily Sr. argued and other nodded in agreement.

**There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday, last year,**

"WOW!"

**enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).**

**"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it,**

"Yah, Greasy git," Sirius said.

"Sirius," Lily said sharply, "Severus doesn't want to steal anything especially under Dumbledore's nose."

"Whatever."

**that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"**

**"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it!**

"Harry!" Lily reprimanded Harry.

"Sorry mom," Harry said ashamed.

**Anyone would want it."**

**"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"**

**The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.**

**"I'm going to play," he told Ron and Hermione. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."**

"Good one, son!" James Sr. said and grinned at Harry.

**"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.**

"Don't say that, Hermione," Lily Sr. said and worried about her son.

"Sorry Mrs. Potter," Hermione said.

**As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Ron and Hermione. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed**

**to, with such a biased referee?**

"If you finish the match soon. That means you should catch the Snitch quickly, Harry." James Sr. advised.

**Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. **

**Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry.**

"Greasy git."

**Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone?**

"Maybe. Severus was a skilled occlumens and Legilimens," Harry said.

"I don't think he used legilimency against you," Hermione said, "It is illegal to use it against underage wizards."

"If that wizard knew it and could sense it," Harry said thinking.

**Harry didn't see how he could -- yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.**

"See, I was right," Harry said.

**Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again.**

"Of course he will be alive." Lily Sr. in a motherly tone.

**This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match. Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.**

"Good idea, but it might hit someone else," Remus said.

**"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.**

**"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."**

**Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside.**

**"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."**

"Yah, no pressure," Harry muttered under his breath.

"That's a good idea!" James Sr. said, "Like I said before."

**"The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even -- blimey -- Dumbledore's come to watch!"**

"That's good, no one will dare to hurt Harry in front of the Headmaster," Lily Sr. said with relief in her voice.

**Harry's heart did a somersault.**

**"Dumbledore?" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right.**

**There was no mistaking that silver beard.**

**Harry could have laughed out loud with relief He was safe. There wassimply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.**

"If Severus wanted it in the first place," Lily Sr. said defending her ex-best friend.

**Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed, too.**

**"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look -they're off Ouch!"**

**Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.**

"Git."

**"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."**

**Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.**

**"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"**

"Shut up Malfoy. My dad is the best," Potter children said in unison.

"Thanks kids," Harry said and beamed at his children.

**Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.**

"Git."

**Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.**

**"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.**

"Greasy git."

**"It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've**

**got no money -- you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."**

"Shut up, you filthy pure-blood snake," Sirius said angrily.

"Like they select their team for talent," Harry said, "They only select their players through bribing and by their family name."

**Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.**

**"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.**

"Go on Neville!" Sirius said.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."**

**"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."**

"Someone must shut this git up." Sirius said angrily.

"Relax Sirius, it will happen soon." Harry said consoling Sirius.

"Good."

**Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxietyabout Harry.**

**"I'm warning you, Malfoy -- one more word**

**"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry --"**

**"What? Where?"**

**Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.**

**"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.**

"SHUT UP!" Sirius bursted out.

**Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground.**

"Go on Ron. Hit that filthy snake," Sirius said still angry.

**Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.**

"Go on Neville," James Sr. said.

**"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape -- she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.**

**Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches -- the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.**

"YES!" James Sr. and Sirius yelled happily.

"That was brilliant, son!" James Sr. said excitedly.

"Thanks dad," Harry said.

**The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.**

"You are the best, dad." James Jr. and Albus said in unison.

"Thanks boys," Harry said and beamed at his sons.

**"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.**

"I thought you didn't like Quidditch?" Ron asked curiously.

"Not really, I came to match for Harry and Gryffindor," Hermione replied.

**Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it -- the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes.**

"FIVE MINUTE! WOW, it must be the fastest catch ever!" James Sr. said amazed.

"Yes, it's a record that hasn't been broken till now," Minerva said.

"Really?!" James said excitedly and Minerva nodded.

"That's my son," James Sr. said proudly.

**As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped -- then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.**

**"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear.**

**"Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror... been keeping busy... excellent..."**

**Snape spat bitterly on the ground.**

"Why?" Lily Sr. said.

"Because he couldn't hurt Harry or take enough points from Gryffindor," James Sr. said happily.

"No dad, that isn't the reason," Harry said.

"How do you know?" James Sr. asked astounded.

"You'll see at the end of the book" Harry said and James Sr. nodded impatiently.

**Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broom shed. **

**He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now – **

"Of course. Because of you Gryffindor won both matches," James Sr. said.

**no one could say he was just a famous name any more.**

"It isn't such an important event in the Wizarding World" Remus said.

"I know, Remus," Harry said, "I was eleven and thought I did something I really deserved to be praised for, not something that I didn't even remember."

"Oh."

**The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.**

"Are you alright?" Molly asked worriedly in a motherly tone.

"It was nothing mom, and it was worth of it to shut up Malfoy," Ron said.

**Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun.**

**Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape....**

**And speaking of Snape...**

**A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner -- what was going on?**

**Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off.**

"Like a Marauder," James Sr. said proudly.

**Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.**

**The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.**

**He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves. Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too.**

"What's going on?" Remus asked.

**Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.**

**"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..."**

**"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy.**

**"Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."**

**Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.**

**"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"**

"Why should he know?" Sirius said.

"Maybe, Severus suspects Quirrell," Remus said.

"For doing what?" Sirius asked.

"Stealing the Sorcerer's Stone," Remus said.

"Are you joking? Why on the earth would Quirrell want the Stone," Sirius said incredulously.

"I have some reason," Remus paused and then took a deep breath and continued.

"First, on Halloween, Quirrell wasn't in the Great Hall and then informed everyone about the troll. I think that he released the troll to make a diversion and went to third corridor to steal the Stone."

"But Snape was there too, he could steal it too," Sirius said.

"Second, I suspected something when Quirrell's name was mentioned in the first match. Why should he be mentioned? I think that he is the one who cursed Harry and Severus wanted to save Harry by muttering the counter-curse," Remus said.

"But he hates Harry," James Sr. said, "There is no way he would want to save Harry."

"Yes, he hates Harry. But he is Lily's son too, and remember he couldn't kill Harry in front of everyone," Remus said, "I think Severus is not the one who wants to steal the Stone, it's Quirrell."

"I agree with Remus," Lily Sr. said.

"Fine, five Galleons that Snape wants the Stone," Sirius said and James Sr. nodded in agreement.

"Deal" Lily Sr. and Remus said.

**"B-b-but Severus, I --"**

**"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.**

**"I-I don't know what you**

**"You know perfectly well what I mean."**

**An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree.**

"Be careful Harry," Lily Sr. cautioned.

**He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "-- your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."**

**"B-but I d-d-don't --"**

**"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."**

"That means Severus is there on the headmasters order," Lily said.

**He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.**

**"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaked.**

**"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And**

**I gave Malfoy a black eye,**

"Good one Ron!" James Sr. and Sirius said and Molly groaned.

**and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right - talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."**

"I like you guys," Sirius said.

"Thanks Mate," George said smiling.

**"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this...."**

**He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.**

**"So we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it.**

Lily Sr. huffed.

**He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocuss-- I reckon**

**there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through --"**

"If Severus really wanted the Stone," Lily Sr. said.

"Snape didn't need any anti-Dark Arts, he knew many," Sirius said.

**"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.**

"So it won't last long," Sirius said and Lily Sr. glared at him.

**"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.**

Everyone looked at Ron and Sirius.

"The chapter is over," Hermione said, "Who wants to read next?"

"Me," Molly said.

Hermione handed the book to her mother-in-law.

**Thanks to ginervaweasleyrocks For Beta reading**

**Thanks to ginervaweasleyrocks, Taeniaea, K.-wriiter12, mizz-shy-gurl, TheRushingRadiancexx, HoratioCraver101, Twilightgirl1950, Luiz4200 for Reviews**


	15. Author Note

**Hello everyone**

**Sorry for waiting too long for continuing the story**

**I decided to add some characters to the story and I ask you to help me**

**The characters that I consider about are:**

**1) Albus Dumbledore (please vote that you want him to add and at what age)**

**2) Severus Snape (please vote that you want him to add and at what age)**

**3) Nymphadora Tonks (please vote that you want him to add and at what age)**

**4) Fred Weasley (please vote that you want him to add and at what age)**

**5) Regulus Black (please vote that you want him to add)**

**6) Others (what characters you want to add and I didn't mention)**

**I will continue this story as soon as I decide what characters I should add to story**

**Thanks**

**HJPotter1980**


	16. Important Author Note

**Hi**

**I am very sorry to inform you that I decided to close my current account ****so this is end of this story for now**

**I will attempt to rewrite this story in my new account that will be PotterAlbusSeveus2006**

**Thanks to my loyal readers**

**HJPOtter1980**


End file.
